Abstract

GRACIA, Amalia  and  HORBATH, Jorge. Forms and expressions of  discrimination against minority religious groups in Mexico. Soc. relig. [online]. 2013, vol.23, n.39, pp.12-53. ISSN 1853-7081.

The same as in many Latin American countries, the hegemony of Catholicism in Mexico resulted in the discrimination of pre-Hispanic and other religions during the colonial period.  Even when this attitude changed and current laws now show a marked advance in relation to this issue, Mexico is not entirely tolerant of the minority religious groups which increasingly emerge in its territory. In the article we enter this problem by studying the main religious minority groups and some situations in which discrimination occurs. It is a complex socio-cultural problem whose roots can be traced back to old social and religious practices related to the dynamics of inclusion/exclusion; such dynamics -which points out the problem of inequality- singularly interweaves different political, economic and cultural aspects into each situation of discrimination.The analysis is based on primary data produced by conducting open interviews and semi-structured professing or pastors and leaders of major religious minority groups and key informant of the public sector; secondary information produced by case studies carried out by other researchers and government sources. In the process of discrimination analized, we found that the social forces behind discrimination are mainly cultural ones as there are groups who support the view that Mexican cultural identity must be preserved from minority social groups.

Keywords : Discrimination; Minority religious groups; Change religious..

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