WHAT WAS THE CHURCH LAW? - HISTORY - 2025

The Iglesias law 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 occurred in the Reform War or the Three Years War.

The causes that provoked this conflict were the promulgation of liberal laws that removed the ecclesiastical and military privileges.

Soldiers of the Reformation at a sale, 1858, oil on canvas, 58.5 x 73 cm, National Museum of Interventions

These laws included the obligation that any crime, by a member of the army or the 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 María Iglesias between January and May 1857.

Historical background to the Churches 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 María Iglesias and Ignacio Comonfort.

Juarez was a pure radical who wanted to eliminate the privileges of the church and the army. Although Comonfort recommended prudence, these laws were enacted 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 supporting the conservatives, while the liberals hailed 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 exposed 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 movement of a large part of real estate, the fundamental basis of public wealth" (Government Decree on Confiscation of Rustic and Urban Farms, 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 that, headed by Benito Juarez, would defend constitutional power. In contrast to Félix Zuloaga, on the more conservative side.

Juarez took command of the state in the Government of Guanajuato, while Zuloaga did so in the capital. Once Juarez came to power, he formulated the laws that would change the landscape of the country.

Among the five laws that he promulgated, was the Churches law. For his part, Zuloaga enacted laws that countered those of the reform.

Churches Law

The Churches Law, known as such by its author, José María Iglesias, was formulated between January and May 1857. It was one of the most important Reform laws that were formulated in Mexico and that caused the Civil War to break out.

This law regulated the collection of parochial rights, prevented people with less income from being required to pay a tithe to the church.

In addition, through this law a punishment was imposed 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 just the Christian faith.

Through the promulgation of the Law, it was proclaimed that the services that the church gave to the people should be free. This means that the clergy could not charge for baptisms, marriages, etc.

What is trying to achieve through these laws, is to separate the power of the church from the State. Also, 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 fully liberal origin, and sought the consolidation of the republic, which in its short life had been greatly influenced by the Church.

Consequence of the Laws of the Reform

After all the problems that occurred 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 reestablished, the approved Reform laws, such as the Iglesias Law, were reinforced and some new ones were added, such as the Law of Secularization of Hospitals and Charitable Establishments in 1861.

The laws for the reform promulgated by the liberal party, achieved the separation of the powers of the Church and the State. Through these laws, the greatest obstacles to achieving a modern economy were eliminated and public finances were cleaned up.

The confiscation of the Church's land helped to heal the public treasury from bankruptcy. A tax system was created where the inhabitants of the country paid only to the State and not to the Church so that it could provide them with basic services.

By not having to pay tithes to the churches, the inhabitants of the country were able to help the recovery of the country's coffers.

Getting new infrastructure and helping the country modernize and follow the example of its American neighbors in industrialization.

The problem arose 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 reform laws were not enough to achieve the pacification of the country or to solve its financial problems.

References

1. PALACIO, Vicente Riva; DE DIOS ARIAS, Juan. Mexico through the centuries. Herrerías Publications, 1977.
2. KATZ, Friedrich. The Secret War in Mexico: Europe, the United States, and the Mexican Revolution. Editions Era, 1981.
3. COVO, Jacqueline. The ideas of the Reformation in Mexico (1855-1861). National Autonomous University of Mexico, Coordination of Humanities, 1983.
4. WAR, François-Xavier. Mexico: from the old regime to the revolution. Economic Culture Fund, 1988.
5. WAR, François-Xavier. Modernity and independence: essays on the Hispanic revolutions. Encounter, 2011.
6. BAZÁN, Cristina Oehmichen. State reform: social policy and indigenism in Mexico, 1988-1996. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico Instituto de Inv Tig, 1999.
7. KNOWLTON, Robert J. The goods of the clergy and the Mexican Reformation, 1856-1910. Economic Culture Fund USA, 1985.