Christianity is the predominantreligion in Mexico comprising 91.3% of the population.Catholicism is its largest denomination representing around 78% of the total population as of 2020 census.[1] In recent decades the share of Catholics has been declining, due to the growth of otherChristian denominations – especially variousProtestant churches,Jehovah's Witness andMormonism – which now constitute larger shares of the population. Conversion to non-Catholic denominations has been considerably lower than inCentral America, and central Mexico remains one of the most Catholic areas in the world.
Mexico is asecular country and has allowedfreedom of religion since the mid-19th century.Mainline Protestant denominations and the open practice ofJudaism established themselves in the country duringthat era. Modern growth has been seen inEvangelical Protestantism, Mormonism and in folk religions, such asMexicayotl.[2][3]Buddhism andIslam have both made limited inroads through immigration and conversion.
The MexicanConstitution of 1917 imposed limitations on theCatholic Church in Mexico and sometimes codified state intrusion into religious matters. The government does not provide financial contributions to the religious institutions, nor does theCatholic Church participate in public education.Christmas is a national holiday and every year duringEaster and Christmas all schools in Mexico, public and private, send their students on vacation.
In a major reversal of the Mexican state's restrictions on religion, the constitution was amended in 1992 lifting almost all restrictions on the religions, including granting all religious groups legal status, conceding them limited property, and lifting restrictions on the number of priests in the country.[4] Until recently, priests did not have the right to vote, and even now they cannot be elected to public office.
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Historically the Catholic Church in Mexico is the oldest established church, established in the early sixteenth century. At independence, the Catholic Church kept its status as the only permissible church in Mexico. In the mid-nineteenth century, Mexican liberals curtailed the exclusive standing of the church, and Protestant missionaries, mainly from the United States, legally evangelized in Mexico. Other Christian denominations have grown in Mexico, dating from the twentieth century. With the growth of immigration from the Middle East, Eastern Catholic churches were established.[citation needed] Evangelical Protestant churches have expanded their reach significantly from the late twentieth century.
Catholics are 77.8%[1] of the total population,[8] down from 82.7%[9] in 2000 and 96% in 1970.[10] The number of Mexican Catholics has fallen by 5% in the first decade of the 21st century and in the south-east Catholics make up less than two-thirds of the population.[10] In absolute terms, Mexico has 90,224,559 Catholics,[1] which is the world's second largest number of Catholics, surpassed only byBrazil.[11]
There are major festivities in Mexico celebrating the Christian holidays of Epiphany (6 January) (Día de los Reyes Magos), All Saints' day (1 November), All Souls' day orDay of the Dead (2 November) (Día de los fieles difuntos), and the feast ofOur Lady of Guadalupe (12 December). These are notpublic holidays in Mexico. Christmas is celebrated as a religious and public holiday.
There are also Eastern Catholic Churches that exist alongside theLatin Church in Mexico, all of which are in communion with thepope. The Vatican II document, "Orientalium Ecclesiarum" (Of Eastern Churches), proclaimed that "Eastern Catholic communities are true Churches and not just rites within the Catholic Church."[13]Carlos Slim, for example, is a Maronite Catholic and a member of theMaronite Church.
About 11% of the population (6,160,000 people over the age of 5, according to the 2000 census, including Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons who are usually considered to be non-Protestant and part ofRestorationism or individual Christian branches) areProtestant,[9] of whomPentecostals andCharismatics (called Neo-Pentecostals in the census), are the largest group. TheAnglican Communion is represented by theAnglican Church of Mexico.
Protestantism is strongest where the Catholic Church and the Mexican state have little presence,[10] and accounts for over 10% of the population in the four states that border heavily-ProtestantGuatemala:Campeche,Chiapas,Quintana Roo, andTabasco. It is also sizable in the Mexican states that border the U.S. State ofTexas. Protestantism had been on the rise as it offers a less legalistic and hierarchical version of Christianity.[15] But in some recent surveys like Latinobarometro, Protestantism in the whole country has dropped from nearly 10% to less than 5%, in counterpart, between 2010 and 2020, the Census recorder an increase from 8% to 11%, ARDA estimated 10.7% in 2015.
There are some Mexicans practicingEastern Orthodoxy in Mexico, mainly foreign-born people.[citation needed] TheOrthodox Church in America has adiocese in Mexico established through mass conversions, as well as through immigration and missionary activity.[16] TheGreek Orthodox Church of Antioch also has a presence in Mexico, through itsAntiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Mexico, Venezuela, Central America and the Caribbean.[17]
There are also a number ofSeventh-day Adventists (488,946 people).[9]
The 2000 national census counted more than one millionJehovah's Witnesses.[9] According to the Jehovah's Witnesses official figures for 2014 there were over 800,000 members involved in preaching.[18]
The firstLDS missionaries in Mexico arrived in 1875 (although the original Mormons came to Mexico in the 1840s in Utah, when it was a Mexican territory). In 1885, 400Mormon colonists moved to Mexico. In 1993 the Mexican government formally registered the LDS Church. This allowed the church to own property in Mexico.
The 2010 Census reported 314,932 Mormons.[19]As of 2015,The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) claims 1,368,475 members, 231stakes, 1,998congregations, and 12temples inMexico.[20]
La Luz del Mundo is aCharismaticChristian denomination with international headquarters inGuadalajara,Jalisco,Mexico. Its flagship church in Guadalajara is said to be the largest non-Catholic house of worship inLatin America.[citation needed]
The Pew Research Center estimated that there were 111,000 Muslims in Mexico in 2010.[21]Islam is mainly practiced byLebanese Mexicans and otherArab Mexicans, with only a few non-Arab Mexicans.[22] There is also a growing population of Muslims among indigenous populations inChiapas.[23][24]
The presence ofJews in Mexico dates back to 1521, when Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs, accompanied by severalConversos.[citation needed] According to the last national census by the INEGI, there are now more than 67,000 Mexican Jews, roughly 95% of whom live in the Greater Mexico City area.[9]
TheBahá'í Faith in Mexico began with visits of Bahá'ís before 1916.[25] In 1919 letters from the head of the religion,`Abdu'l-Bahá, were published mentioning Mexico as one of the places Bahá'ís should take the religion to.[26] Following furtherpioneers moving there and making contacts the first Mexican to join the religion was in 1937, followed quickly by the first Bahá'íLocal Spiritual Assembly of all Latin America being elected in 1938.[25][27]
With continued growth theNational Spiritual Assembly was first elected in 1961.[27][28] TheAssociation of Religion Data Archives (relying onWorld Christian Encyclopedia) estimated almost 38,000 Bahá'ís in 2005.[29]
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Approximately 108,701 Buddhists are counted in Mexico.[citation needed] Also one of sixTibet Houses in the world – Casa Tibet México – is located in Mexico City. It is used by theDalai Lama and other leaders ofTibetan Buddhism to preserve and share Tibetan culture and spirituality.Alejandro Jodorowsky has stated that he discoveredZen Buddhism in the 1960s while in Mexico.[30][31]
There are also two institutions from Theravada Buddhism tradition, the Theravada Buddhist Monastery and the Vipassana House of Meditation. There are at least 30 Buddhist groups in Mexico.[2]
There are about 800 Indian families in Mexico, constituting about 900NRIs. Most of them are recent arrivals in the country. There is a big presence of recently arrived Indians working forTata Consultancy Services in Guadalajara, Querétaro and Mexico City. Mexico has a non-discriminatory policy with regard to the grant of its citizenship. The spouse of a Mexican national would generally not face any problem in acquiring local citizenship. But although quite a few NRIs have married Mexicans, they have retained their Indian citizenship (India doesn't allow dual citizenship). A Sai Baba temple and a Vaishnav temple have been constructed in Mexico City by the Sangam Organisation.
There are around 8,000 Sikhs in Mexico. Most of them are of Punjabi origin.
It's important to specify that irreligion andatheism in Mexico is complex to measure because many Catholics and part of Protestants leads a secular life patterns, and some religious studies with a particular purpose can reports differents percent of unaffiliated people, the National Census in 2010 reported 4.7% having no religion.[32] However, according toINEGI, the number of atheists grows annually by 5.2%, while the number of Catholics grows by 1.7%.[33][34]
The majority of the population istheistic but religious participation has declined. Recent surveys have shown that around 3% of Catholics attend church daily and 44% attend church at least once a week.[35]
| Religion | Numbers | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 92,924,489 | 82.72 |
| Anabaptist/Mennonites[table 1] | 10,753 | 0.01 |
| Baptist[table 1] | 252,874 | 0.23 |
| Church of the Nazarene[table 1] | 40,225 | 0.04 |
| Methodist[table 1] | 25,370 | 0.02 |
| Presbyterian[table 1] | 437,690 | 0.39 |
| Other historic Protestant[table 1] | 53.832 | 0.05 |
| Pentecostal[table 2] | 1,782,021 | 1.59 |
| Other Christian Evangelical[table 2] | 5,783,442 | 5.15 |
| Seventh day Adventist[table 3] | 661,878 | 0.59 |
| Mormons[table 3] | 314,932 | 0.28 |
| Jehovah's Witnesses[table 3] | 1,561,086 | 1.39 |
| Eastern religions | 18,185 | 0.02 |
| Judaism | 67,476 | 0.06 |
| Islam | 3,760 | < 0.01 |
| Native religions | 27,839 | 0.02 |
| Spiritualism | 35,995 | 0.03 |
| Other religions | 19,636 | 0.02 |
| No religion | 5,262,546 | 4.68 |
| Not specified | 3,052,509 | 2.72 |
Notes
| ||
| State | Catholic | Protestant andEvangelical | OtherChristian | Jewish | Other | None | Not specified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aguascalientes | 95.6% | 1.9% | 0.7% | <0.1% | 0.1% | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| Baja California | 81.4% | 7.9% | 2.7% | <0.1% | 0.2% | 6.2% | 1.6% |
| Baja California Sur | 89.0% | 4.0% | 1.9% | <0.1% | 0.2% | 3.6% | 0.1% |
| Campeche | 71.3% | 13.2% | 4.7% | <0.1% | 1.7% | 9.9% | 0.8% |
| Chiapas | 63.8% | 13.9% | 9.0% | <0.1% | <0.1% | 13.1% | 1.2% |
| Chihuahua | 84.6% | 7.1% | 2.0% | <0.1% | 0.1% | 5.1% | 1.1% |
| Coahuila | 86.4% | 6.8% | 1.8% | <0.1% | 0.1% | 3.8% | 1.1% |
| Colima | 93.0% | 2.9% | 1.4% | <0.1% | 0.1% | 1.8% | 0.8% |
| Durango | 90.4% | 3.9% | 1.8% | <0.1% | <0.1% | 2.9% | 0.9% |
| Mexico City | 90.5% | 3.6% | 1.3% | 0.2% | 0.8% | 2.9% | 0.7% |
| Guanajuato | 96.4% | 1.3% | 0.7% | <0.1% | 0.1% | 0.7% | 0.7% |
| Guerrero | 89.2% | 4.4% | 2.0% | <0.1% | 0.4% | 3.1% | 0.9% |
| Hidalgo | 90.1% | 5.2% | 1.3% | <0.1% | 0.4% | 1.6% | 0.7% |
| Jalisco | 95.4% | 2.0% | 0.9% | <0.1% | <0.1% | 0.9% | 0.7% |
| Mexico | 91.2% | 3.8% | 1.6% | 0.1% | 0.7% | 1.8% | 0.8% |
| Michoacán | 94.8% | 1.9% | 1.1% | <0.1% | 0.2% | 1.3% | 0.8% |
| Morelos | 83.6% | 7.3% | 3.1% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 4.3% | 1.0% |
| Nayarit | 91.8% | 3.0% | 1.3% | <0.1% | 0.2% | 2.9% | 0.7% |
| Nuevo León | 87.9% | 6.2% | 2.0% | <0.1% | 0.1% | 2.8% | 0.9% |
| Oaxaca | 84.8% | 7.8% | 2.3% | <0.1% | 0.2% | 4.0% | 0.9% |
| Puebla | 91.6% | 4.3% | 1.4% | <0.1% | 0.4% | 1.4% | 0.8% |
| Querétaro | 95.3% | 1.9% | 0.9% | <0.1% | 0.2% | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Quintana Roo | 73.2% | 11.2% | 4.6% | <0.1% | 0.2% | 9.6% | 1.1% |
| San Luis Potosí | 92.0% | 4.6% | 1.0% | <0.1% | 0.2% | 1.5% | 0.7% |
| Sinaloa | 86.8% | 2.9% | 2.0% | <0.1% | <0.1% | 7.1% | 1.0% |
| Sonora | 87.9% | 4.8% | 1.8% | <0.1% | <0.1% | 4.4% | 1.1% |
| Tabasco | 70.4% | 13.6% | 5.0% | <0.1% | <0.1% | 10.0% | 0.8% |
| Tamaulipas | 82.9% | 8.7% | 2.4% | <0.1% | 0.2% | 4.9% | 1.0% |
| Tlaxcala | 93.4% | 2.9% | 1.4% | <0.1% | 0.4% | 1.0% | 0.9% |
| Veracruz | 82.9% | 6.9% | 3.3% | <0.1% | 0.2% | 5.9% | 0.8% |
| Yucatán | 84.3% | 8.4% | 3.0% | <0.1% | 0.1% | 3.5% | 0.8% |
| Zacatecas | 95.1% | 1.9% | 1.0% | <0.1% | <0.1% | 1.1% | 0.8% |
| Mexico total | 87.99% | 5.20% | 2.07% | 0.05% | 0.31% | 3.52% | 0.86% |
TheConstitution of Mexico and other laws establish and protect the freedom of religion inMexico;[38] religious instruction is prohibited in public schools, but religious groups are allowed to maintain private schools.
Religious groups may not own or administer broadcast radio or television stations and government permission is required for commercial broadcast radio or television to transmit religious programming.[38]
In 2023, the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.[39]
