This post is the first part of a new series called New Perspectives, which is a cooperation between the Religion Factor blog and the Graduate School of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. It is coordinated and edited by Floor Zwaagstra with the support of the Religion Factor's editor-in-chief Manoela Carpenedo. 

Why should we talk about Catholicism in Mexico? First of all, Catholicism is the religion with the most significant number of followers in the country. According to the numbers of the Vatican, México is the second most Catholic state in the world, with a committed catholic population of 110.9 million (2017). Currently, there is a socio-political and economic connection between the Catholic Church and Mexico. This relationship unfolds in a complex manner but can be elucidated through an analysis of the papal visits to the Mexican state. Through these visits, the political game and the intentions of the Vatican for the Mexican nation can be discerned. From John Paul II to Francis, each pope has visited the country.

For several decades, the Vatican has been facing a decrease in the number of the faithful all over the world, and Mexico is no exception; in which between 2010 and 2020, the percentage of the faithful of the Catholic church dropped significantly (from 82.7% to 77.7%) according to the 2020 Mexican population and housing Census. Catholicism has lost credibility and trust by having been involved in numerous scandals related to sexual crimes, deep financial troubles, and internal Vatican disputes among different factions. This situation, combined with a complicated relationship cultivated between believers and their church, has contributed to a decline in the number of Catholic believers in Mexico. This disaffiliation from Catholicism has opened up the possibility for other religions to flourish in the country. Different beliefs have been taking advantage, such as Protestantism coming from the United States of America (USA), the Afro-Diasporic cults coming from the immigrants, such as Santería, and the new forms of native beliefs, such as Santa Muerte, have been increasing in number and rooted deeply in the Mexican cosmology.

By being aware of the growth of other religions in the country, the Catholic church tries its best to avoid reducing its membership. In this context, securing its parish in Mexico is strategic for keeping the protagonism of Catholicism in the Latin-American continent. Mexico needs to be understood in the context of its geography and, therefore, having a strategic position between the USA and the rest of Latin America. For the Vatican, Mexico has an important role not only in stopping the advance of USA Protestantism to the rest of the region but also in exporting the Catholic faith to the USA through the large flow of Mexican migrants. Furthermore, Mexico can export Catholicism to Latin America through the conferences held by the Regional Synod of Bishops, the relations that exist between the Latin-American ecclesiastical bodies, and also through the Mexican Catholic culture received in other countries.

In order to understand what are the strategies that the Catholic church employs to secure the majority of believers in the Mexican nation, there is a need to examine the foreign policy produced by the Vatican through the Holy See. It is important to stress that the Mexican state establishes a complex relationship with the Catholic church. Unlike any other Latin American country, Mexico fought an internal war against the Catholic religion, where churches were closed, and diplomatic relations with the Vatican were broken. Therefore, we have to consider Mexico by considering the colonial history which brought Catholicism to the country, the Independence War and the appearance of the secular state, the aforementioned armed struggle named ‘the Cristero War’ (from 1926 to 1929), the modus vivendi between the state and the Church, and the restoration of diplomatic relations between the Mexican state and the Vatican at the end of the 20^th century, which lead us to the current political alliance between the Church and the State.

To talk about religious-related issues means using transdisciplinary methods. Not just political science approaches are needed but also approaches from history, sociology, and religious studies. For instance, we can study foreign policy through the visits made by the popes by paying attention to the places chosen, the speeches made, the meetings with the political representatives, the gestures, and all the preparations leading up to the visits. Each pope selected different Mexican regions to visit. John Paul II visited Mexico five times. Benedict XVI carried out just one visit focusing on the land of the Mexican Bajío, which was the place that suffered the most the inclemencies of the Cristero War. On the only visit done by pope Francis, he selected states which represented national conflicts areas, such as Michoacan, which faces a narcotraffic war against the state; Ciudad Juarez, a state with many unresolved femicides; and Chiapas, where the indigenous population suffers continuous abuse and where John Paul rejected its indigenous church. These selected places for papal visits offer an insight into how the Catholic church articulates its vision in Mexico.

The speeches given showed the intentions and concerns of each pope. The political game of the national church comes to light during these visits. Who were the bishops accompanying the pope? What message did he address to the national ecclesiastical body? And to the Mexican population? How did the Mexican government react? The state, for example, takes advantage of papal visits to fight national discontent with its administration and to distract the population with momentary palliative. By doing this research, we can elucidate the nature of these relations and how the Mexican state and the Catholic church will relate in the future.

Few experts are discussing the relationship between the Vatican state and the Mexican state using the frameworks from political science and international Relations. Good examples are the work of Roberto Blancarte, who has analyzed the relationship between the Catholic church and the state through history and politics and has contributed to clarifying, identifying, and understanding this intricate relationship. He has also developed a rich scholarship to better understand the diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Vatican. In addition, we also have the work of the Colombian researcher Ángela Iranzo, which provides an alternative path to study religions within the framework of political science and international Relations. Her work not only identifies the gaps in our knowledge but also proposes innovative transdisciplinary theoretical paths, including the relevance of considering the “Religion factor“ in the approaches of political science and international relations.