Victory on Earth or in Heaven: Mexico's Religionero Rebellion

By: Brian A. Stauffer

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Synopsis: This work reconstructs the history of Mexico&’s forgotten &“Religionero&” rebellion of 1873–1877, an armed Catholic challenge to the government of Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada. An essentially grassroots movement—organized by indigenous, Afro-Mexican, and mestizo parishioners in Mexico&’s central-western Catholic heartland—the Religionero rebellion erupted in response to a series of anticlerical measures raised to constitutional status by the Lerdo government. These &“Laws of Reform&” decreed the full independence of Church and state, secularized marriage and burial practices, prohibited acts of public worship, and severely curtailed the Church&’s ability to own and administer property. A comprehensive reconstruction of the revolt and a critical reappraisal of its significance, this book places ordinary Catholics at the center of the story of Mexico&’s fragmented nineteenth-century secularization and Catholic revival.