MEXICO
Mexico has a highly religious population. According to the 2010 census, 83 percent of Mexicans self-identify as Roman Catholic, and 7 percent as Protestant (mainline, evangelical, Pentecostal and others). Around10 percent align with other religious communities.
Also extremely popular is the cult of Santa Muerte, a Mexican folk saint most often depicted as a female Grim Reaper who personifies death. She is popular among cultural Catholics who do not know, or care, that the Catholic Church has condemned Santa Muerte as a dangerous symbol of narco-culture.
Mexico’s constitution provides for religious freedom and prohibits discrimination based on religion.
Persecution of Christians comes in two forms:
persecution perpetrated by illegal armed groups;
persecution of indigenous converts to Christianity living in indigenous communities.
Persecution by illegal armed groups.
Enabled by systemic corruption and emboldened by a culture of impunity, violent criminal groups – in particular, those associated with the trafficking of illicit drugs – have expanded throughout the country leaving a trail of blood and misery in their wake.
Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports (1 March 2021): “Over the past decade there has been a significant increase in violence against religious leaders. . .”
Recommended:
General Briefing: Mexico
Christian Solidarity Worldwide, 1 March 2021
Excerpt
“Criminal groups often target churches for extortion, attempting to coerce church leaders into paying protection money or allowing their churches to be used for money laundering. Priests [Catholic and Protestant] have also been threatened, kidnapped, tortured and killed. Church leaders have complained that local and state police are quick to label these attacks and murders as ‘common crime’, most frequently as robberies gone wrong, rather than investigating the cases fully. . . Many such cases go unreported because of the high levels of fear of retaliation by criminal groups.”
For a more detailed report see:
A culture of impunity: religious discrimination in Mexico
Christian Solidarity Worldwide, 2020.
In 2010, the youths of one evangelical Protestant church in crime-wracked Ciudad Juarez – Mexico’s most violent city – decided they would take to the streets in protest of the endless bloodshed. The did so, not as shouting activists, but as silent “Messenger Angels”.
The youths were painted white and dressed in white angel costumes complete with wings plastered with feathers collected from old pillows and doonas. Standing tall on step ladders in the middle of busy highways, on overpasses, and on the edge of bloodied crime scenes, these silent messenger angels held large signs with words such as, “Hitmen, believe and repent”, “Assassins repent, Christ loves you!”. Despite the risks, these courageous youths took their message to the streets at every opportunity, trusting God to keep them safe.
According to the BBC, not only did the murder rate in Ciudad Juarez drop by 45 percent between 2010 and 2011, but “the figures for the first six weeks of 2012 were even more promising, suggesting a 57 percent drop in homicides compared to the same time period in 2011.”
While job creation and other government initiatives undoubtedly had a significant and beneficial impact, I believe we can confidently assert that through their courageous public witness, ministry, and prayers these young “messenger angels” undoubtedly had more to do with the improving security situation in Ciudad Juarez than most journalists would ever dare suggest.
Recommended:
· A Tribute to Ciudad Juarez’s Angels
By Elizabeth Kendal, Religious Liberty Monitoring, 19 February 2012
· Angels take to Mexican streets to fight drug crime,
(You Tube, AFP, 2mins) 21 Dec 2011
· The Messenger Angels of Ciudad Juárez,
(10min documentary) 4 Jan 2014
Persecution of indigenous converts to Protestant Christianity living in indigenous communities.
In the indigenous communities of southern Mexico, it is common for converts to Protestant Christianity to face serious pressure from syncretistic Roman Catholics (Catholics who also practise Indian traditional religion) who view Protestant Christianity as non-traditional, foreign, and divisive.
Pressure can include denial of services and even expulsion from the village. The problem is most severe in the southern states where local authorities have sought to impose religious uniformity in their communities justified under Usos y Costumbres, the Law of Uses and Customs.
As Christian Solidarity Worldwide notes (CSW Briefing, March 2021): “Mexico’s Law of Uses and Customs allows indigenous communities to govern themselves according to traditional laws and customs. The law is meant to be exercised in line with the individual rights guaranteed in the constitution, but in practice the government at both the state and federal level does little to enforce it. As a result, the rights of religious minorities are routinely violated. A culture of impunity has become entrenched in around 14 states, and especially in Chiapas, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Oaxaca and Puebla. In these states the majority religious group often believes it is their right to enforce religious belief and practice.”
The anti-Protestant persecution is driven in part by superstitious fear and jealousy, and in part by the megalomania of some community leaders; and fuelled by a pervasive culture of impunity.
Persecution starts out as pressure to renounce Protestantism and return to the old ways. That is then followed by boycotts, illegal fines, and denial of services – impacting children’s education and family’s access to water and markets. If this fails, then the persecution can extend to incarceration and even expulsion from the village.
Despite religious freedom being a constitutional right, state authorities rarely intervene; and to its shame, neither does the Catholic Church.
See:
Mexico: needing a word from Pope Francis
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin, 3 February 2016