Catholic Church and Mexican Politics: From Colony to Constitution

The Church as Colonial Power and Lender

The Catholic Church in Mexico underscored both its conquest and its independence. Organizationally, the Church prior to the liberation theology of the twentieth century was always more cohesive than the Mexican government. The Church has traditionally been aligned with conservative interests, including the military and wealthier landowners. The institution of tithing and the Church's role as a colonizer through its missions helped make it the most powerful pre-revolutionary institution in Mexico. Additionally, at a time before the existence of broad-based commercial lending, the Church not only acted as the principal lender in the colony and early republic, but also served as the nexus for all public activity in many smaller communities. However, the influence of the Church was severely limited under liberalism. Although the Díaz government restored some of the Church's former glory, the Constitution of 1917 ultimately spelled an end to the Church's dominance over the state.

The Church played a major role in the revolution because it felt threatened by liberal reformers who wished to auction off its land. Following the French Revolution, republicans in France had seized all Church lands and sold them in an attempt to break the Church's grip on the country and on society. This sentiment was reflected in the interests of liberals in Mexico from before the revolution through the civil wars that produced the liberal governments of the 1860s and 1870s.

The Spanish monarchy was the first administration to attempt to break the Church's grip on power in Mexico. In the 1700s it expelled the Jesuits from the country, and in 1804 introduced the Royal Law of Consolidation. This law authorized the government to seize Church lands for auction. To the consternation of most Mexicans, it also allowed the government to seize money lent out to individuals in order to meet Spanish revenue needs, which threatened to weaken the colonial economy by reducing money available for internal loans.

By the end of the eighteenth century the Church had become the principal lender in Mexico. In the area around Guadalajara, for instance, it loaned as much as 70% of the funds for commercial projects. Many contended that the Church's capital wealth exceeded even its vast land holdings. Although the Royal Law of Consolidation remained in effect for only four years, it severely affected small landholders and businessmen who operated on Church loans. The Church responded by demanding immediate repayment of all outstanding loans. Those who could not meet payment obligations were forced to sell their property at an inopportune time, and many property holders suffered as a result.

Until the late 1850s, the Church was one of the largest and wealthiest organizations in Mexico. Beyond its financial power, it provided a cultural link between the state's sanctioned religion and many Mexicans' ancestral past. Many scholars believe that the modified form of Christianity that emerged from the coercive conversion of indigenous peoples was, in fact, encouraged by the early Catholic priests in Mexico — a process bearing similarities to the conversion of European tribes, which resulted in the adaptation of pre-Christian holidays and traditions into Christianity.

In many cases it is unclear whether conversion was forced or voluntary. The religion that emerged represented a blending of Aztec and Christian elements in a process known as syncretism — the fusion of various elements from each religious tradition. The early Church also exercised political power through its courts. Between 1570 and 1820, the Courts of Inquisition in the colonies heard 6,000 cases, resulting in 100 individuals being burned at the stake. However, this continuation of the Spanish Inquisition was not primarily aimed at indigenous people; rather, it was an attempt by the Spanish to protect their religious market share. Few of those brought before the Court were Indians; the majority were Protestants or recent converts from Judaism suspected of heresy toward the Catholic Church.