Understanding World Christianity: Mexico
By Todd Hartch
Fortress, 268pp, £19.99/$29
The history of Christianity in Mexico is certainly eventful. The Constitution of 1917 placed severe restrictions on the practice of religion, under the guise of separating Church and state. As Todd Hartch makes clear in this lucid, well-researched and informative book, the Constitution (which has since been revised) was not simply secular, but virulently anti-religious.
However, what brought matters to a head were the actions of President Plutarco Elías Calles, in office from 1924 to 1928, who decided to pass legislation that would effectively outlaw Catholicism in Mexico, drawing on the Constitution as his justification. This led to the absurdity, for example, of the state decreeing that the Church only needed one priest for the whole state of Morelia. The result was the Cristero rebellion, from 1926 to 1929, its harsh repression by the state, and hundreds of thousands of deaths. The rebellion succeeded in its aims, though, in that the anti-Catholic laws, though remaining on the books, were no longer enforced, and the slaughter was brought to an end through US mediation.
