En Gooren, Henri, Encyclopedia of Latin American . Ciudad de México (México): Springer.

Agnostics and Atheists in Mexico.

Mora, Carlos.

Cita: Mora, Carlos (2017). Agnostics and Atheists in Mexico. En Gooren, Henri Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Ciudad de México (México): Springer.

Dirección estable: https://www.aacademica.org/carlosndu/14

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Agnostics and Atheists in Mexico as well as political doctrines and ideologies, among others. Besides, the possible "militancy" Carlos Nazario Mora Duro in sorne atheistic collective that pragmatically El Colegio de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico complements the worldview of atheists must be added. On the other hand, agnostics share a position ｋ･ｾｯ ｲ､ ｳ＠ that "does not miss ," although we cannot be Agnosticism; ; Religiously affinned that they total! y ignore this notion. These unaffiliated; Religious shift; Secularism individuals usually consider any transcendent and proposition in the private sphere "unkoowable"; in this sense, they represent one of the more specific expressions of "postmodem Definition doubL"

Agnosticism and atheism are two positions in regard to the world that distance themselves lntrodudion from a theistic or religious posture; although their definitioo is not based exclusively on the There has been a considerable increase in the negation of a God or on the lack of religious study of agnosticism and atheism, particularly beliefs, rather, they imply a set of values and within anthropology and sociology, especially representations of a difTerent kind, as well as since the last decades ofthe past century, relating practica! consequences in the actions of agnostic to the growth in the number of religiously or atheistic people. unaffiliated - sometimes called the rise of the Although these positions are usually consid• "nones" - those wbo are usually associated with ered homogeneously, there are important differ• atheist and agnostic postures. ences among them. The expansion of "nones" is remarkably In terms of a substantial that ioftuences observable in most of the globe. Actually, they the pattems oflifeworld, atheists claim to be with• represent 16.4% of the world population by the out "" and also without "God"; neverthe• fust decade of the twenty-fust century (Pew less, as we have mentioned, oegation is oot the Research Center 2015). While in Latin America, fundamental argument of atheism, since it can their proportion is 8%. And in Mexico, the per• encompass other beliefs systems: scientific or centage of religiously uoaffiliated respondents humanistic values, "rationalist" epistemologies,

© Crown Copyright 2018 H.P.P. Gooren (ed.), Encyclopedia ofLatin American Religions, bttps://doi.org/1 0. 1ＰＰＷＯＹＷＸＭＳＭＳＱＹｾＸＹＵＶＭＰ＠ _369-1 2 Agnostics and Atheists in Mexico reaches 7% of the country's population (Pew "1 cannot allow this to be read bere, this is an Research Center 2014). education place" (Prieto 1906). Now, it is important to say that the group of Certainly, this event would not have been pos• religiously unaffiliated is not fully composed of sible without a structural milieu characterized by a atheists or agnostics. ln fact, data in many national mínimum of political secularism. And so it was, census or surveys shows that, on the whole, athe• during the nineteenth century in Mexico. ists and agnostics conunonly account for fewer Throughout this period, tbe Catholic ecclesiastical than half of the number of "nones." As an illus• Jeadership (wbich administered 99% of tbe reli• tration, in America, nearly 25% of adults say they gious preferences ofthe country untill91 O) had to are unaffiliated; however, only slightly more than defend its autbority against different secuJar 6% ofthe total population is accurately defined as cballenges: atheist or agnostic (PRRI 20 16). (1) First of all, against the nation-state, reassetting For the Mex.ican case, according to the Pew its role as tbe only guide of social and moral life, Research Center (2014), despite the fact that there tbat is, asan institution tbat preserves tbe Truth for is 7% ofreligiously unaffiliated, only 3% identify the "swvival of tbe nation". Moreover, (2) against intellectuals and their "transgressive" and "rnisun• themselves as "atheists" and another 3% say they derstanding" interpretations of the world; as "ha ve no particular religion." Moreover, the mea• opposed to clergymen who bad the task of guiding surement has not registered agnostics. Even so, and ｾｫ･･ｰ＠ at bay" tbe request for religious toler• we cannot deny the increase in the proportion of ance. And, most of aJJ, (3) against the common people, who also contributed to "tbe moral degen• people with an agnostic or atheistic identification eration" witb their "selflessness, tbeir enjoyment of linked to the widening of general religious disaf• life, their sensuality." (Staples 2009, 276-78) fil iation. This phenomenon, for itself, contrasts In the early twentieth century, tbe Mexican strongly with the monopoly that Catholicism has Revolution precipitated tbe climate of seculariza• exhibited throughout the history of Mexico: a tion. Right after this confiict, Catholicism began nation that has been identified as the birthplace to decrease its quasitotal majority religious affili• of the "Guadalupano" fervor and as an important ation. The armed conflict was, therefore, an asset of Catholicism in the Americas. "intensive course of secularization" resulting from the "moral relativism" engendered by vio• lence among the different factions in disagree• Historical Outline ment Of course, "people continued believing"; bowever, the conduct of social life was no longer Historically, the subject of agnosticism and athe• established by the "administrators of beliefs" ism in the Mexican nation can be traced back to (Monsiváis 2002). the first half of the nineteenth century. According Taking into consideration tbe previous histori• to Mexican writer Carlos Monsiváis (2002), the cal events, the Mex.ican religious landscape has "invention" of atheism in the country is set in a undergone substantial cbanges in recent years. controversial event; in 1837, the young Ignacio This trend emerged in tbe early 1990s and con• Ramírez, called "The Necromancer," in bis tinues into the early twenty-first century. As can speech at tbe Academy of San Juan de Let:rán, in be seen in Table 1, since the late nineteentb• Mex.ico City, pronounced the sentence: "There is century the percentage of Catholic people had no God! Natural beings sustain themselves." remained stable or decreased sligbtly; neverthe• Such a revelation strongly impacted tbe Jess, in 1990, Catholicism declined to 89.7% of public. As ''a monster apparition" wrote tbe politic tbe total population, and tbis has also impacted tbe and poet Guillermo Prieto: "a deafening collapse growtb of the religiously unaffiliated and conse• of the roof, would not ha ve caused more commo• quently the growtb of atheism and agnosticism. tion." In tbe middle of a ''rabid outcry," tbe direc• With all circumstances being considered, ana• tor of tbe Mexican bumanist academy protested: lyzing agnosticism and atheism in tbe early Agnostics and Atheists in Mexico 3

Agnostics and Athelsts in Year Catholic% Unaffiliated % Mexico, Table 1 Trcnds 1895 99.1 0.5 in Catholic affiliation and 0.1 unaffiliated, 1895- 201 o 1900 99.5 1910 99.2 0.2 1921 97.1 0.8 1930 97.7 1.1 1940 96.6 2.3 1950 98.2 n.a 1960 96.5 0.6 1970 96.2 1.6 1980 92.6 3.1 1990 89.7 3.2 2000 88.0 3.5 2010 82.7 4.7 Source: INEGI (2010, 2011)

ｴｷ･ｮｴｹｾｦｩ Ｎｲｳ ｴ＠ century in Mexico means, primarily, themselves as atheist or agnostic. In fact, arnong recog01zmg the historical processes that have allo• our informants, 60% were males aged about 28. wed Mexicans - espccially young people-to take On the other hand, most of our atheists• a posirion as a part ofagnosticism or atheism. with agnostics informants were raised Catholic but sorne distinguishing qualities. have since left the "," wbich is not atypical in view of the hegemonic and historical position of this cburch. A similar pattem can be found in the report of Religion in Latín America of Pew Characteristics Research Center (2014). They report that 900/o of ｍｾ ｸｩ｣｡ｮ＠ adults were raised Catholic, 9 percentage Bascd on our findings in the context of Mexico pomts more than those currently identified as City, we found that 34% of "nones" answered a Catholic. Data suggest that through religious question about their "current religion" by saying sbifting, other churcbes and the religiously they were atheist or agnostic. Among them, one unaffiliated population in Mexico bave gained halffully identify themselves with atheism and the members (Fig. 1). other half with agnosticism. That is, only about We also found in researcb that most of the one-third of unaffiliatcd people currently identify religious shifi usually developed over time and as atheist-agnostic (These findings are part of our through experience. A perception of"lax religios• PhD research with nonreligious Mexicans cur• ity" in the farnily is central to narratives leaning rently conducted al El Colegio de México. We towards dispossession of the lineage of belief aimed to interview 30 participants agcd 17-75, (atheism) or towards doubt as a continuous state who reside principally at Benito Juárez in Mexico Ｈ｡ｾｯ ｳ ｴｩ｣ｩｳｭ ＩＮ＠ The less salience of religious City. Given that the study involved a small-scale beliefs and practices in the family is a signi.ficant nonrandomized sample, our results cannot be gen• consequence of the decline of them. This milieu eralized to the wider Mexican population, fosters that agnostics and atheists manage their although, similar conclusions from other perti• own views and values, taking advantage of the nent, nongeneralizable studies nevertheless sug• social interactions and structural configurations. gest that our results may be indicative ofbroader For example, access to bigher degrees of educa• trends.). tion than the previous generation, accumulated ln terrns of the characterization of these indi• experience in the labor marlcet, contact with viduals, young men are more likely to describe 4 Agnostics and Atheists in Mexico

100 -----wr------90 81 80 - 70 - 1;.. 60 -- ";;:! 50 - f-·-¿ 40 30 20 k; 9 7 10 ....Ｚｾ＠ 5 .... 4 2 o ｾ＠ :JI Catholic Protestan! Other No religion in particular, atheist, agnostic • In what religion were you raised? • What is your present religion, if any?

Agnostics a nd At heists in Mexico, Fig . 1 Shifting religious idcntity in Mcxico (So urce: Pcw Rescarch Ccntcr 20 14)

secular networks, and perception of an environ• City, rather than standing against religion, atheists ment of secularism in public sphere. "deoy any institutional dependence, in tenns of Another finding among Mexican agnostics• beliefs," and this involves a greater freedom "to atheists is that their worldview generally does believe and to practice another kind of religios• not promote actions of assembly or rrülitancy ity". Consequently, the Mexican sociologist offiine, which indirectly highlights the teodeocy reminds us, "more than atheists, the majority of towards individualism. This, oonetheless, coo• Mexicans classified in tbis group correspond to trasts with the eogagemeot with online resources the category of agnostics" (Gutiérrez 2005, 636). and arguments that iodividuals acquire in social The emerging field that addresses agnosticism. networks, online spaces, and global infonnation atheism (and nonreligioo) recognizes, on the one tecbnologies in order to construct their own nar• hand, that these positions do not necessarily irnply rative around the religious and nonreligious a change towards a permanent identification, but identity. imply a "multifaceted ideotity" under the influ• ence ofbiograpbical experience and secular envi• ronments of socialization along the individual Discussion trajectory. And, on the other hand, it notes that these identities don not exclude beliefs and prac• A cornmon hypothesis about agnostics aod athe• tices ofteo associated with a religious affiliation, ists is that they react strongly against religion, for example, the belief in God and other "spiri• maintaining a position of "heresy" or "." tual" phenomena. Consequently, it is noted that these positions are We propose that a plausible approacb is to manifested when individuals start to think that all consider agnosticism and atheism in terrns of a religions are false to the same degree. 1t is often socially constructed worldview, based on "doubt" supposed that someone who "does not believe in or "uncertainty," representative in tbe former, and God does not believe in anything." As a conse• a "nontheistic" perspective, conunon in the latter. quence, "he is an atheist and may bave also Therefore, more than agnostics in the strict sense, become an apostate," that is, he "subscribes to we can speak of religiously unaffiliated-uncertain the act of fighting and attacking the religion" (UU), and, more tban atheists, they can be con• (Garma 1999, 158). sidered religiously unaffiliated with the non• Unconditional heresy or apostasy is not theistic worldview {UNT). entirely accurate, even though sorne atheists Unaffiliated-uncertain (UU) often sbows an show strong animosity against religion. As attitude of irresolution in regard to the probability Gutierrez (2005) found in the context of Mexico that God exists and affects the world. Agnostics and Atheists in Mexico S

Occasionally, they replace the meaning [God] reminds us that they regularly hold three points with other deregulated notions of the control of of view: (l) there is a continua! belligerence institutional religions, as "universal energy or among discourses of religion and science. consciousness," the "highest being," "the uni• (2) Atheism is a "higher" position in regard to verse as a whole," "something," etc. We suggest religion, because it is justified in "scientific" argu• that the significan! variation in the meaning of ments. Therefore, they recognize tbe adoption of religious concepts implicates an attitude ofplural• science as "the last standard and arbiter of all ism in regard to diversity ofbeliefs and definitions matters ofhuman interest". (3) And tbe only qual• that the "others" incorporate in the formation of ity of religion is the "corruption" it has made of personal meaning. This position also considers human capabilities. It means, therefore, that reli• that all search and questions about the moral and gion is the "cultural other" or, in other words, "the the spiritual can be justified in a Secular Age. enemy." Ln addition to the above, the UU individuals UU and UNT show, in general, sorne degree of outlooks usually may be mediated by "scientific intersection witb religious practices and beliefs, knowledge," nevertheless, they do not claim a even though they are unaffiliated. Therefore, strictly "rational" position. In fact, they often rec• beyond tbeir agnostic or atheistic position, they ognize that "science" has limits and tbat "it does can attend religious services and maintain ele• not provide all the answers" to questions of u !ti• ments of the religious worldview, since they may mate coocern or to build an integral meaning consider tbem "socially relevant," that is to say, within life. They keep their minds "open" to the witb benefits for socialization in the lifeworld. "deptb" and "wonders" of human expcrience, This tendency can certainly be presented more without this representing a state of vital uncer• easily among UU, beca use they do not rule out the tainty, since doubt is in fact a sort of ontological validity of religious elements as severa! UNT; position. even though, it is also possible to fiad trajectories On the other hand, unaffiliated-nontheists with a predisposition of indifference to the social (UNT) base their religious disaffiliation primarily manifestations of religion, beyond a rigorous on the absence of belief, faith, and anything reli• position contrary to religious dogmas. gious from their cognitive perspective; for exam• ple, in any notion of , , or spiri ts. This type involves evidently "atheists" and Cross-References "antitheists." Atheists included in UNT typology can be .,.. and Religious Practices intellectual or militant. The former commonly .,.. Lifeworld, Science develop their position through consumption and .,.. Secularization production of intellectual references: books, videos, magazines, blogs, and other dissemination media and debate of ideas. The latter are proac• References tive, and their minimal activism goes from confronting their ideas with family or other close Ganna C ( 1999) Conversos, buscadores y apóstatas: groups to more collective manifestations, such a estudio sobre la movilidad religiosa. In: Perspectivas meetings witb other atbeists or skeptical• del fenómeno religioso, México. Scaetaria de freethinking groups. GobemacióniFLACSO, Méllico, p 129 a 178 Guriérrez D (2005) Multirreligiosidad en la Ciudad de Additionally, other individuals show a more México. Economía, Sociedad y Territorio 19:617-658 assertive position: antitheist ln a sense, they INEGI (2010) Censo de Población y Vivienda 201 O. Avail• regard religion - or any element derived or closed able at: http:/lwww.censo2010.org.mx/ to it- as damaging factor for "human flourishing. '' INEGI (20 11) Panorama de las religiones en México 2010. Instituto Nacional de Estadísitca y Geografia, Méllico. This last group within UNT has also been Available at: http://www.inegi.org.mxlprod_scrv/ categorized as "new-atheists." McGrath (20 16) contenidos/espanoVbvinegi/productoslcensos/ 6 Agnostics and Atheists in Mexico

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