Topic: Humanities, Freedom of Thought and Expression Protection
Thesis: From the ancient past, faith has proved to be one of the most significant characteristics in human life. Many societies across the world have thrived socially and politically courtesy of their religious affiliations. The rule of law, political dispensations worldwide have risen and fallen due to or lack of religion. The history of the Americas majorly bases on the colonization by Western nations that hugely relied on religion as a basis for their conquest. However, ancient people in the Americas also have their beliefs before the introduction of the church. The Catholic Church of Mexico and the Bill of Rights in the United States of America comprise of good examples of how church and state laws separate faith and politics.
Separation of Church and State:
- Separation of Church and State Laws in the United States of America and Mexico
- The Bill of Rights of the U.S.A has a section that details the separation of Church and State. The backbone of the U.S. s’ democracy firmly lies in how it has been able to separate church and state despite the concept remaining controversial in popular culture and law (Green, 2014).
- A significant time in Mexican history consists of when the separation of church and state goes back to the Reforma period (1857-1861) and during the Revolution of 1910-1920 (Schmitt, 1984, p. 349).
- Both the U.S and Mexico have a history of European invasion that introduced the church as a matter of public relations. However, after gaining their independence, both countries have taken different paths in how the public should differentiate between the church and state. Still, in the same context, they also have some similarities.
- Differences include how the U.S has, for a long time, respected and retained the rights and freedoms for individuals to belong to a religion of their choosing (Green, 2014). In Mexico, despite the nation being predominantly catholic, there have emerged political and civil disagreements about the church (Schmitt, 1984, p. 349).
- Similarities include the adoption of laws that cement the definite difference between the church and the state. In the U.S, the First Amendment states the following with regards to the establishment of religion, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” (Green, 2014). Although in Mexico, the law might have slightly skewed against the church during the Cristero War, there are religious rights, and many of Mexican citizens are Catholics.
- The practice of the church and state law
- The practice of state law in Mexico and the suppression of the dominant Catholic church was vin the late 1850s when the authorities nationalized church land and other property. Also, even after the Mexican Revolutionary War, and the Cristero War, the church was never rendered independent (Schmitt, 1984). Therefore, in Mexico, church law has been under state law for a long time. However, in the U.S., there is a clear differentiation in the nation’s Constitution, although the states chose to practice religion independently (Green, 2014).
Conclusion
The Catholic Church of Mexico and the Bill of Rights in the United States of America comprise of good examples of how church and state laws separate faith and politics. Both countries have a history in their adoption of religion and the various legislation that followed later on in one way or another separate state administration and church administration. The two sets of communities also have similarities and differences between this separation and practice.
References
Green, S. K. (2014). The separation of church and state in the United States. In Oxford research encyclopedia of American history. Oxford Research Encyclopedia. https://oxfordre.com/americanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-29
Schmitt, K. (1984). Church and state in Mexico: A corporatist relationship. The Americas, 40(3), 349-376. https://www.jstor.org/stable/981118?read-now=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents