Analysis: Believing in a Better Tomorrow; Religion in Chiapas
Article written by Melissa Mundt
From the earliest moments of the Spanish Conquest, religion has been
intricately linked to projects of domination and resistance. The Catholic Church, the spiritual arm of Spanish colonization,
destroyed community organization and Indigenous culture. However, its
influence was also incomplete and Indigenous practices strong, often
creating syncretism between traditional faiths and leaving room for
cultural resistance movements. There were religious aspects to Chiapas
Indigenous revolts throughout history. In 1712, thousands of Indigenous
peoples deserted the Church and joined together to worship at new
shrines where it was claimed the Virgin Mary had appeared to them
(Harvey, 40). Building on a growing ethnic consciousness, organizers
"reinterpreted the scriptures by identifying Indians as the chosen
people and the ladinos the Jews to be run out of the Kingdom of God"
(Harvey 40). To this day religion (referring to Catholic and Protestant
faiths which are far and away the majority in Chiapas, though there are
small and growing pockets of Islam) continues to play a crucial role in
the Chiapas political landscape, dividing communities, oppressing or
empowering congregants and inspiring rebellion.
To begin to understand religion in Chiapas or Mexico at large, it is
essential to realize the central role it plays in community life. In
small communities or neighborhoods in urban areas, the festival of the
Church's patron saint is the most important time of year, and
organizing and paying for the party, the most important cargo (communal
duty, service). Typically, the people who fund and host the saint
festival are among the wealthiest and most powerful in village and
municipal political bodies. That is to say, religious, economic, and
political power in small communities often overlaps. When a family
removes themselves from the Church by converting to a different faith
it is an affront not just to the religious uniformity of a village, but
also to community social and political life. In some areas, these
tensions become very real power struggles in which converted
Protestants are expelled from the community, or if Protestants reach a
majority, Catholics are expelled. In Chiapas, religion is an
explosively divisive issue and religious refugees in the state's major
cities number in the thousands.
These conflicts are in the minority, however compared to the
religiously divided communities that coexist with little or no discord.
Furthermore, the healing and empowering aspects of religion are
sometimes overlooked. For example, many women attribute their
conversion to Protestant faiths to the prohibition of alcohol, which
for many means the recovery of an alcoholic husband, more family
stability and less domestic abuse. A Mayan Christian movement
(resurrecting traditional Indigenous theology within a Catholic
context, exploring the syncretism in the faith of present day
Indigenous Catholics) is a growing force for ethnic empowerment,
spiritual healing, unity and dignity in communities. Liberation
theology (a reorientation of the Catholic Church in the late 60s and
70s to the empowerment and spiritual needs of the worlds oppressed
peoples) and its' defender in Chiapas, Bishop Samuel Ruiz, was
incredibly successful in creating Indigenous leadership, mobilizing
communities for dignity and justice and allowing space for an
Indigenous theology that renewed cultural traditions and pride. It is
thought that the religious and leadership training that Indigenous
catechists received laid the groundwork for an Indigenous movement
demanding rights, justice and dignity in the mid-80s; the fledgling
Zapatista Liberation Army.
Religion as a tool for empowerment is obviously threatening to
established power structures. A conservative swing within the Catholic
Church (a backlash and reprimand to Liberation Theology) has meant once
again the dismantling of traditional Indigenous practices in some
communities. Anytime people come to believe that they have a right to
equality, dignity, food, freedom, etc, (whether they are empowered
through churches, schools, or other ideologies) they become a threat to
a government that has been incapable of or unwilling to provide for the
basic needs of it's citizens. Religion, on a very basic level, brings
people together, usually to share and support one another. In a place
with such extreme material poverty and few avenues for improvement like
Chiapas, sometimes spirituality is the only outlet for hope. When
scriptures are interpreted in an empowering way, religion can provide
divine justification for mobilizing for change. Religion will continue
to be an extremely divisive issue in Chiapas due to how connected the
Church is to community political power. But exciting advances in
ecumenical organizing and interfaith conflict resolution are striving
to make spirituality a uniting, empowering and healing force within
this divided and wounded state.
For more information see: Harvey, Neil. 1998. The Chiapas Rebellion.
Durham: Duke University Press. Eckstein, Sarah, ed. 1989. Power and
Popular Protest: Latin American Social Movements. Berkeley: University
of California Press.
From the earliest moments of the Spanish Conquest, religion has been
intricately linked to projects of domination and resistance. The Catholic Church, the spiritual arm of Spanish colonization,
destroyed community organization and Indigenous culture. However, its
influence was also incomplete and Indigenous practices strong, often
creating syncretism between traditional faiths and leaving room for
cultural resistance movements. There were religious aspects to Chiapas
Indigenous revolts throughout history. In 1712, thousands of Indigenous
peoples deserted the Church and joined together to worship at new
shrines where it was claimed the Virgin Mary had appeared to them
(Harvey, 40). Building on a growing ethnic consciousness, organizers
"reinterpreted the scriptures by identifying Indians as the chosen
people and the ladinos the Jews to be run out of the Kingdom of God"
(Harvey 40). To this day religion (referring to Catholic and Protestant
faiths which are far and away the majority in Chiapas, though there are
small and growing pockets of Islam) continues to play a crucial role in
the Chiapas political landscape, dividing communities, oppressing or
empowering congregants and inspiring rebellion.
To begin to understand religion in Chiapas or Mexico at large, it is
essential to realize the central role it plays in community life. In
small communities or neighborhoods in urban areas, the festival of the
Church's patron saint is the most important time of year, and
organizing and paying for the party, the most important cargo (communal
duty, service). Typically, the people who fund and host the saint
festival are among the wealthiest and most powerful in village and
municipal political bodies. That is to say, religious, economic, and
political power in small communities often overlaps. When a family
removes themselves from the Church by converting to a different faith
it is an affront not just to the religious uniformity of a village, but
also to community social and political life. In some areas, these
tensions become very real power struggles in which converted
Protestants are expelled from the community, or if Protestants reach a
majority, Catholics are expelled. In Chiapas, religion is an
explosively divisive issue and religious refugees in the state's major
cities number in the thousands.
These conflicts are in the minority, however compared to the
religiously divided communities that coexist with little or no discord.
Furthermore, the healing and empowering aspects of religion are
sometimes overlooked. For example, many women attribute their
conversion to Protestant faiths to the prohibition of alcohol, which
for many means the recovery of an alcoholic husband, more family
stability and less domestic abuse. A Mayan Christian movement
(resurrecting traditional Indigenous theology within a Catholic
context, exploring the syncretism in the faith of present day
Indigenous Catholics) is a growing force for ethnic empowerment,
spiritual healing, unity and dignity in communities. Liberation
theology (a reorientation of the Catholic Church in the late 60s and
70s to the empowerment and spiritual needs of the worlds oppressed
peoples) and its' defender in Chiapas, Bishop Samuel Ruiz, was
incredibly successful in creating Indigenous leadership, mobilizing
communities for dignity and justice and allowing space for an
Indigenous theology that renewed cultural traditions and pride. It is
thought that the religious and leadership training that Indigenous
catechists received laid the groundwork for an Indigenous movement
demanding rights, justice and dignity in the mid-80s; the fledgling
Zapatista Liberation Army.
Religion as a tool for empowerment is obviously threatening to
established power structures. A conservative swing within the Catholic
Church (a backlash and reprimand to Liberation Theology) has meant once
again the dismantling of traditional Indigenous practices in some
communities. Anytime people come to believe that they have a right to
equality, dignity, food, freedom, etc, (whether they are empowered
through churches, schools, or other ideologies) they become a threat to
a government that has been incapable of or unwilling to provide for the
basic needs of it's citizens. Religion, on a very basic level, brings
people together, usually to share and support one another. In a place
with such extreme material poverty and few avenues for improvement like
Chiapas, sometimes spirituality is the only outlet for hope. When
scriptures are interpreted in an empowering way, religion can provide
divine justification for mobilizing for change. Religion will continue
to be an extremely divisive issue in Chiapas due to how connected the
Church is to community political power. But exciting advances in
ecumenical organizing and interfaith conflict resolution are striving
to make spirituality a uniting, empowering and healing force within
this divided and wounded state.
For more information see: Harvey, Neil. 1998. The Chiapas Rebellion.
Durham: Duke University Press. Eckstein, Sarah, ed. 1989. Power and
Popular Protest: Latin American Social Movements. Berkeley: University
of California Press.
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