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Line 65: − There is no official religion in Mexico. The Mexican constitution guarantees separation of church and state. The dominant Religion is [[Roman Catholic]]ism. (Mexico is 90% Roman Catholic, 6% Protestant, 4% other). However, evangelical churches have dramatically expanded their membership in recent decades. (Mormons reported that membership surged from 248,000 in 1980 to 617,000 in 1990 and increased further to 1,043,718 by 2005.) <ref>[http://globalmormonism.byu.edu/?page_id=79 Source: 2007 Church Almanac]</ref>+ − Mexico City has numerous churches covering all denominations, including Jewish, Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox. <ref>[http://www.solutionsabroad.com/a_religionmexico.asp Religion in Mexico]</ref>+ − Mexican society tends to be [[conservative]] in certain aspects, such as family values.+ − <br><br>+ + + + + +
→Religion
===Religion===
===Religion===
[[Image:Guadalupe ch.jpg|right]]
[[Image:Guadalupe ch.jpg|right]]
According to the 2000 census, approximately 88% of respondents identify themselves as at least nominally Catholic. There are an estimated 11,000 Catholic churches and 14,000 Catholic priests and nuns.
An additional estimated 90,000 laypersons worked in the Catholic Church. Groups that constitute less than 5% of the population include evangelicals (Pentecostals, neo-Pentecostals, and Pentecostal Roots), "historical" Protestants (defined by the Government as Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Nazarene, Mennonite, and others), Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and Jews.<ref> See [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108532.htm U.S. State Department "International Religious Freedom Report 2008"]</ref>
The General Director for Religious Associations of the Federal Secretariat of Government (GDAR) registered a total of 3,554 evangelical and 80 traditional Protestant associations. The exact number of evangelical and Protestant churches and pastors is unknown, and statistics on membership remain scant. Official figures sometimes differ from membership claims of religious groups. For example, the Seventh-day Adventist Church claims a nationwide membership of 600,000 to 700,000 persons; however, according to the 2000 census, only 488,945 persons identify themselves as such. Also according to the 2000 census, 205,229 persons identify themselves as Mormons, whereas the Mormons claim membership of approximately 1.2 million.
Non-Catholic Christians are concentrated primarily in the south. In the State of Chiapas, 21.9% of respondents in the 2000 census identify themselves as Protestant; however, some Protestant evangelical groups claim a much higher pecentage.
The Jewish community claims approximately 50,000 members, most of whom live in Mexico City; there are also congregations in Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana, and Cancún. There is a small Muslim population in the city of Torreón, Coahuila, and there are an estimated 300 Muslims in the San Cristobal de las Casas area in Chiapas. Some indigenous people in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Yucatán practice a syncretic religion that mixes Catholic and pre-Hispanic Mayan religious beliefs.
In some communities, particularly in the south, there is a correlation between politics and religious affiliation. A small number of local leaders reportedly manipulate religious tensions in their communities for their own political or economic benefit, particularly in Chiapas.
==Government==
==Government==