Census data is never enough: How to make visible the religious diversity in Mexico

Abstract

Since 1895, the Population and Housing Census of Mexico has included the variable ‘religious affiliation’, and this helped to affirm the monopoly of the Catholic religion. In the new millennium, the dynamics of religious diversification of recent decades required a change of design in order to capture the new situation, making religious minorities visible in a way that would propitiate a culture of pluralism. To this end, a team of researchers worked together to capture the diversity of religions in Mexico for the 2010 census. In this article we shall describe: a) the methodological strategies developed to improve the census classifier, and a critique of its achievements in capturing the diversity of religious affiliations and memberships in Mexico; b) the need to combine a quantitative approach to religious affiliation with qualitative approaches to religious self-identification in order to describe and analyze religious deinstitutionalization and individualization tendencies, applying questionnaires to representative samples of the population.

Représentations sociales et figures stéréotypées : le catholique, le croyant et le pratiquant

“…L’appartenance religieuse n’est pas forcément exclusive, appartenances multiples et trajectoires de mobilité se retrouvent dans les expériences religieuses d’individus qui ne souscrivent pas forcément en entier aux assemblages de croyances et de pratiques provenant d’une religion officielle (McGuire, 2008). Afin de mieux comprendre différents types de rapports au catholicisme et de niveaux d’engagement, il y a intérêt à distinguer l’appartenance de l’identification et à ouvrir à la possibilité de reconnaître des manières multiples d’appartenir et de s’auto-identifier (Campiche, 1991 cité dans Gutiérrez Zúñiga et De la Torre Castellanos, 2017 : 248, 256). Par ailleurs, il est pertinent de considérer l’émergence de catégories paradoxales comme les « croyants sans appartenance » ou les « membres sans croyance » (Bréchon, 2009).…”

Evaluating the measure of diverse adolescent spirituality in samples of Mexican and Salvadoran youth.

“…Specifically, some individuals who identify as Catholic may incorporate heterodox beliefs and practices that are derived from other traditions into their engagement with Catholicism (De la Torre et al, 2014). For example, many Mexicans use collectivistic expressions of faith, including religious ceremonies, rituals, and fiestas (Gutiérrez Zuñiga & De la Torre Castellano, 2017). Alternatively, for those ascribing to orthodox Christianity, weekly mass attendance, religious celebration of rites of passage, prayer, and confession are considered very important (Gutiérrez Zuñiga & De la Torre Castellano, 2017).…”

“…For example, many Mexicans use collectivistic expressions of faith, including religious ceremonies, rituals, and fiestas (Gutiérrez Zuñiga & De la Torre Castellano, 2017). Alternatively, for those ascribing to orthodox Christianity, weekly mass attendance, religious celebration of rites of passage, prayer, and confession are considered very important (Gutiérrez Zuñiga & De la Torre Castellano, 2017).…”