The Law of churches Was a document issued in 1857 for the reform of the relationship of the State with the Church in Mexico. It is established in the reforms that happened in the War of Reformation or the War of the Three Years.
The causes that caused this conflict were the promulgation of liberal laws that removed the ecclesiastical and military fueros.
Soldiers of the Reformation in a sale, 1858, oil on canvas, 58.5 x 73 cm, National Museum of Interventions
These laws included the obligation that any crime, by any member of the army or church, be judged as any citizen in a civil court.
These laws were promulgated by the new president Ignacio Comonfort, who had replaced Juan Álvarez. Specifically, the Iglesias Law was promoted by Jose Maria Iglesias between January and May 1857.
Historical Background to the Iglesias Law
The Radicals seized the power of the presidency in Mexico and established a series of reforms that tried to separate the power of the state from the church and the army. Among them were Benito Juarez, Jose Maria Iglesias and Ignacio Comonfort.
Juarez was a pure radical who sought to eliminate the privileges of the church and the army. Although Comonfort recommended prudence, these laws were promulgated and the War of the Reformation began.
The more conservative parts of the country repudiated the new laws that the new executive Was enacting. Above all, the press echoed these by supporting the conservatives, while the liberals acclaimed the power that was forming in the state.
The first reforms established by the President of the Republic, wanted to reduce the power of the clergy and reaffirm the power of the State.
Ignacio Comonfort sent the message to the inhabitants where he explained the importance of the separation of powers.
In it he says,"One of the greatest obstacles to the prosperity and aggrandizement of the nation is the lack of movement or free circulation of a large part of the root property, the fundamental basis of public wealth"(Government Decree on Disentailment of Fincas Rústicas y Urbanas, 1856)
With the Juarez Law and the Lerdo Law, the Civil War began, faced with liberals and conservatives. On the one hand we found the liberal party headed by Benito Juarez would defend constitutional power. In contrast to Félix Zuloaga, for the more conservative side.
Juarez took command of the state in the Government of Guanajuato, while Zuloaga did it in the capital. Once Juarez came to power, he formulated laws that would change the landscape of the country.
Among the five laws that promulgated, was the law of Churches. For his part, Zuloaga enacted laws that counteracted those of the reform.
Law of Churches
The Law of Churches, known by its author, José María Iglesias, was formulated between January and May of 1857. It was one of the most important Reform laws that were formulated in Mexico and that caused the Civil War to explode.
This law regulated the collection of parochial rights, preventing the people with less income from being required to pay a tithe to the church.
Furthermore, this law imposed a punishment on members of the clergy who did not take this circumstance into account.
When this law was enacted, the conservative part of the country and the clergy unleashed various criticisms. These laws directly affected the power of the Church in Mexico, which for more than three centuries had been more participatory than in the Christian faith alone.
Through the promulgation of the Law, it was proclaimed that the services provided by the church to the people, should be free. This means that the clergy could not charge for baptisms, marriages, etc.
What it is tried to obtain through these laws, is to separate the power of the church of the State. Also, to prevent the Church from getting rich from the people, and much more from the most needy.
By reducing the power of the Church in the State, it could not influence government decision-making. This law had a completely liberal origin, and sought the consolidation of the republic that in its short life had been greatly influenced by the Church.
Consequence of the Laws of the Reformation
After all the problems in the Civil War, the Liberal party managed to maintain power and defeat the conservatives in the battle of Calpulapan on December 22, 1860. Juarez then took the capital and called elections where he won fairly.
Once the constitutional order of the country was restored, the approved Reform laws, such as the Iglesias Law, were strengthened and added a new one such as the Law on Secularization of Hospitals and Charitable Institutions in 1861.
The laws for reform promulgated by the Liberal Party succeeded in separating the powers of Church and State. Through these laws, the major obstacles to a modern economy were eliminated and public finances were cleaned up.
The confiscation of the lands of the Church helped to sanitize the public treasury of bankruptcy. A tax system was created where the inhabitants of the country paid only to the State and not to the Church to provide them with basic services.
By not having to pay the tithe to the churches, the inhabitants of the country could help the recovery of the coffers of the country.
Building new infrastructures and helping the country modernize and follow the example of its American neighbors in industrialization.
The problem came when the liberal government realized that in the years in which the Conservatives were in power, they had manipulated public finances and the country's situation was in decline.
The laws of reform were not sufficient to achieve the pacification of the country or to solve its financial problems.
References
- PALACIO, Vicente Riva; OF DIOS ARIAS, Juan. Mexico through the centuries . Publications Herrerías, 1977.
- KATZ, Friedrich. The Secret War in Mexico: Europe, the United States and the Mexican Revolution . Ediciones Era, 1981.
- COVO, Jacqueline. The ideas of the Reformation in Mexico (1855-1861) . National Autonomous University of Mexico, Coordination of Humanities, 1983.
- WAR, François-Xavier. Mexico: from the old regime to the revolution . Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1988.
- WAR, François-Xavier. Modernity and Independence: Essays on the Hispanic Revolutions . Meeting, 2011.
- BAZÁN, Cristina Oehmichen. Reform of the state: social policy and indigenism in Mexico, 1988-1996 . National Autonomous University of Mexico Instituto de Inv Tig, 1999.
- KNOWLTON, Robert J. The goods of the clergy and the Mexican Reform, 1856-1910 . Fondo de Cultura Economica USA, 1985.