Christianity 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. Evangelical Protestant churches have expanded their reach significantly from the late twentieth century.
Catholicism is one of the most important pilgrimage sites of Christianity. in
Mérida, Yucatán, is the oldest cathedral on the mainland
Americas.
Catholics are 77.8% down from 82.7% in 2000 and 96% in 1970. 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. in
Jalisco is one of the most visited
pilgrimage shrines in
Mexico. There are major festivities in Mexico celebrating the Christian holidays of Epiphany (6 January) (), All Saints' day (1 November), All Souls' day or
Day of the Dead (2 November) (), and the feast of
Our Lady of Guadalupe (12 December). These are not
public holidays in Mexico. Christmas is celebrated as a religious and public holiday.
Eastern Catholicism in Mexico There are also Eastern Catholic Churches that exist alongside the
Latin Church in Mexico, all of which are in communion with the
pope. 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."
Carlos Slim, for example, is a Maronite Catholic and a member of the
Maronite Church. • the
Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Our Lady of the Martyrs of Lebanon in Mexico • the
Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Nuestra Señora del Paraíso in Mexico City 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.
Eastern Orthodoxy , Mexico City. Part of the
Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, it is under the auspices of Archbishop Antonio Chedraoui (
es). There are some Mexicans practicing
Eastern Orthodoxy in Mexico, mainly foreign-born people. The
Orthodox Church in America has a
diocese in Mexico established through mass conversions, as well as through immigration and missionary activity. The
Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch also has a presence in Mexico, through its
Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Mexico, Venezuela, Central America and the Caribbean.
Seventh-day Adventist There are also a number of
Seventh-day Adventists (488,946 people).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The first
LDS 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, 400
Mormon 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.
La Luz del Mundo La Luz del Mundo is a
Charismatic Christian denomination with international headquarters in
Guadalajara,
Jalisco,
Mexico. Its flagship church in Guadalajara is said to be the largest non-Catholic house of worship in
Latin America.
Islam , the first mosque in Mexico The Pew Research Center estimated that there were 111,000 Muslims in Mexico in 2010.
Islam is mainly practiced by
Lebanese Mexicans and other
Arab Mexicans, with only a few non-Arab Mexicans. There is also a growing population of Muslims among indigenous populations in
Chiapas.
Judaism . The presence of
Jews in Mexico dates back to 1521, when Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs, accompanied by several
Conversos. 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. 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. Following further
pioneers moving there and making contacts the first Mexican to join the religion was in 1937, followed quickly by the first Bahá'í
Local Spiritual Assembly of all Latin America being elected in 1938. With continued growth the
National Spiritual Assembly was first elected in 1961. The
Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on
World Christian Encyclopedia) estimated almost 38,000 Bahá'ís in 2005. == Indian Religions ==