Religious reconfiguration in Mexico: Beliefs and Practices National Survey, 2016

Abstract

Although Mexico is one of the countries with the most number of Catholics, it is experiencing a rapid and intense religious diversification. The religious field in Mexico now comprises a myriad of denominations that are transforming the supposed socioreligious homogeneity of Mexicans. Among the Catholics, novel practices often associated with new spiritualities, including neopagan and indigenous rituals, are another feature of this diversity, along with a trend toward religious deinstitutionalization. Findings from the ENCREER, a national survey on religious practices and beliefs, allow for a comparative analysis of the main religious identifications (Catholics, Protestants and Evangelicals, Seventh Day Adventists/Jehovah’s Witnesses/Latter Day Saints, and unaffiliated). With an eye to facilitating international comparisons, this article describes the survey design and the principal findings of the analysis of the contemporary religious diversity in Mexico.

Beards, Tattoos, and Cool Kids: Lived Religion and Postdenominational Congregations in Northwestern Mexico

“…This law also established the Oficina de Asuntos Religiosos 3 , a government branch that allows for the registration of religious associations in the country. Up until 2020, over 7000 congregations had officially registered, and about half of them were of Roman-Catholic nature (De la Torre et al 2020 ). In a way, the Ley de Asociaciones Religiosas y Culto Público was a turning point: the last two censuses have shown that in spite of Mexico’s Catholic-heavy heritage, religious diversity has been a key element of the cultural plurality that the country has to offer.…”

“…These translocal communities have been providing social, economic, and spiritual assistance to the waves of migrants moving in from Mexico and Central America into the west coast of the US, mainly California and Oregon (Odgers and Ruiz 2009 ; Ramirez 2003 ; Stephen 2007 ). Those migrants that make it back to their original communities, be it voluntarily or involuntarily, usually convert their friends and relatives into Evangelicalism and/or Pentecostalism, thus explaining why both borders in Mexico show the highest rate of religious shift towards the Evangelical-Pentecostal spectrum (De la Torre et al 2020 ). Drug trafficking and abuse has also contributed to the spread of Evangelical and Pentecostal churches in the border region, because most rehabilitation centers in northwestern Mexico are owned and operated by them (Odgers and Olivas 2018 ).…”

“…The most recent census drove that number down to 77.7%, while Protestant and Evangelical adscription went up from 7.5% in 2010 to 9.8 in 2020 (INEGI 2020 ). According to the Mexican Survey on Religious Beliefs and Practices , this religious shift is more pronounced in the border states of the country (De la Torre et al 2020 ; RIFREM 2016 ). The changes that have occurred in the religious landscape of Mexico during the post-revolutionary period can be explained by the migration of the rural and indigenous workforce into the big cities; Evangelical and Pentecostal churches took this opportunity to increase their numbers among the most vulnerable because they were more effective in providing moral, spiritual economic support (Garma and Hernandez 2007 ; Hernández 2013 ; Hunt 2002 ; Parker 1996 ; Wilson 1959 ).…”