Although Mexico is officially a secular nation, it exhibits a strong religious influence. Saints’ names pervade everything from civil registries to public infrastructure, illustrating how Catholic traditions continue to influence the everyday and political life of the country.
Cultural Consequences of Religious Influence in Mexico
In Mexico, we lack religious freedom; what we experience is a religious imposition. Consider this: the majority of Mexicans have saints’ names. Likewise, most Mexican towns are also named after saints.
Furthermore, the majority of hospitals are named after saints and archangels instead of prominent doctors or scientists who dedicated their lives to medical inventions, which have benefited even the saints themselves.
Additionally, a significant number of major avenues are named after saints, despite being funded by taxpayers. Similarly, all popular Mexican fairs must be named after a saint or the regional virgin.
In Mexico, there are more temples than scientific laboratories, as temples represent a financial burden on the public treasury, which provides their maintenance because they are deemed to belong to the Nation.
Vacations are granted with the intention that these free days be devoted to the Church. From our homes, we are informed that we are Catholic, Apostolic and Roman.
Presidents of the Republic must receive the Pope’s blessing at the beginning of their mandate and perform the respectful “hand-kissing” on behalf of all Mexicans as a sign of submission.
The Divine Archangel’s Peace
Our National Anthem frequently reminds Mexicans of the divine archangel’s peace and asserts that we are a soldier of “heaven.”
With the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexicans are reminded to whom we owe our “independence” (in quotes).
The “Cry of Independence” instills in children the call of the bells they must heed throughout their lives.
Priests are privileged citizens exempt from paying taxes on their professional income, among other taxes, even though they enjoy political prerogatives such as the right to vote and partisan proselytizing.
Merely being a bishop or cardinal suffices to shield pedophiles without the risk of prosecution, precisely due to the immunity that being representatives of “God” (in quotes) grants them, including the power to excommunicate their parishioners involved in “justice.”
Indigenous practices, such as the celebration of the Day of the Dead, must incorporate a cross or a saint to be considered Mexican.
Halloween
Mexican children are forbidden to practice Halloween, as it is considered a pagan festival of foreign origin. However, it is forgotten that religion also comes from abroad and has incorporated pagan rites. According to this view, “God” blesses Mexico by canonizing saints who have emerged from its people, even though these saints were dissidents against the rule of law.
Cardinals and Bishops are honored guests when the president of the Mexicans reports on his administration to the Congress of the Nation and the kings of Spain are received with veneration, while figures like Fidel Castro are demonized for not aligning with the Church’s ranks of “God” (in quotes).
Mexican Athletes
Mexican athletes must cross themselves at each competition to show the world where Mexico aligns, even within the game. However, some athletes, driven by their innocence, do so in good faith.
We are promised heaven and glory if we belong to the “Church”; otherwise, if we wish to be free or independent, we are threatened with hell or excommunication.
By state decree, there must be a church facing the civic public square in every town, as well as a government palace and a school. Mexicans are made to believe that a civil marriage contract is only perfected with an ecclesiastical marriage.
Those who deviate from the Church and its doctrine are labeled “separated brothers” or “enemies of ‘God,'” regardless of whether they are good citizens.
Ethical and Religious Principles
Moral principles are confused with religious principles. We know that religious principles teach us to be faithful to the Church, while moral principles are universal and applicable to both believers and atheists.
Religious examples include: “You shall love God above all things” and “You shall not take the name of God in vain.” Moral examples include: “You shall not kill” and “You shall not steal.”
Being from a “good family” implies publicly practicing religious rites and, preferably, having economic comfort. We are taught to fear excommunication to keep us aligned with the Church, even if it lacks reason and sensibility.
We are taught to respect priests because they are, according to this, representatives of “God.” When they commit a social infraction or crime, we are advised to forgive them because, then, they are human.
The Church tells us that idolatry is reprehensible and bad, yet from a young age, we are taught to kneel and bow reverently before images or statues, under the premise that they are the divine representation.
Mexican Women Must Always Do What “God” Commands Through the Priests
From childhood, Mexican women are taught that the only representatives of “God” are priests and that she is just a mere human.
These representatives know that women give birth to infants who will eventually become the sheep of the “Lord”; hence the urgent prohibition of abortion and the refusal to ordain women priests due to celibacy.
On the other hand, homosexual marriage is denied under the premise that they cannot procreate and “God” (in quotes) commanded them to “be fruitful and multiply.”
The population politically votes for those candidates who seem aligned with the Church and whose campaigns adhere to what the priests proclaim as divine mandate, even if they are mistaken, as demonstrated by science and world history.
There is a false morality that presumes that those who frequent temples are good citizens, despite their economic success being questionable.
Most Mexican television networks produce soap operas that praise the devotion of Mexicans, usually featuring a priest who, according to this, advises better than the authorities themselves.
The Indigenous Inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico
When conquered by the Spaniards, they worshiped the sun, the moon and the stars.
This devotion complicated the imposition of their religion by the conquerors even in the sixteenth century, a powerful reason that motivated Catholic hierarchs to commission a monk skilled in the art of painting to create the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which symbolically covered the Sun God and denoted its greatness, while the Moon Goddess was tarnished under the virgin’s feet and the stars served as her mantle.
The mandatory route that led from Tlatelolco to Teotihuacan, crossing through the Sierra del Tepeyac, was chosen for the appearance of this image. It was the ideal place to build a Catholic temple that would subliminally inculcate the power of the “Virgin” and make them forget their indigenous gods.
It is noteworthy that it was not difficult to find an indigenous accomplice (a Malinche) of the theologians who devised this successful evangelization that now defines Mexicans.
Indeed, Faith Moves Mountains
And in politics, it is essential to mobilize the masses. Plato and Aristotle, creators of the religious idea, taught their disciples that man is a political animal and of this, there is no doubt.
Machiavelli stated that it is better to be feared than loved; therefore, to dominate the masses, it is more effective to teach the fear of God than love. For this reason, it was necessary to create the notion of hell, since, according to Machiavelli, the end justifies the means and the objective, of course, is to congregate masses that serve political interests.
With information from Lic. J. Manuel Olivas Rivera | arrobajuarez.com
