Religion, 95 



disastrous defeat in the adoption of a program of reaction. They go 

 with the times and support the administration of Gen. Diaz because, 

 on the whole, it suits them, and manifests no hostility to their con- 

 scientiously held convictions. The pope's influence seems to be 

 directed to assuaging ancient rancors, and to the calming of passionate 

 resentments, which is a great deal better for the Church. 



Protestantism in Mexico. The Liberal party proclaimed as an 

 inherent right of man, freedom of conscience and the free exercise 

 of one's religion ; but the question was really only a theoretical 

 one, since excepting a few foreigners, no one in Mexico had any 

 other religion than the Catholic. The clergy, the Church party, 

 and all strict Mexican catholics were greatly opposed to the intro- 

 duction of Protestantism, because protestants were looked upon as 

 heretics whose purpose was to divide the Mexican people into dif- 

 ferent sects, disturbing their religious unity, which they considered a 

 source of national strength, and ultimately aiding in what some 

 Mexicans fear is the aim of this country, that is : the final absorption of 

 Mexico. When the struggles between the Liberal and the Church 

 party terminated in favor of the former in 1867, with the withdrawl of 

 the French army from Mexico and the downfall of Maximilian, the 

 time came to put into practice the principles of the Liberal creed, and 

 protestant organizations in the United States sent missionaries to 

 Mexico for the purpose of establishing and propagating the protestant 

 religion there. The Mexican Government could not refuse to allow 

 the missionaries the free exercise of the Protestant or any other faith, 

 because that right was guaranteed to all men in our constitution, and 

 also because it has been a principle for which the Liberal party had 

 been contending during many years. 



But we went, then, further than allowing the Protestants the free ex- 

 ercise and preaching of their religion, and as I am in a measure respon- 

 sible for that step, I think it proper to give my reasons for the same. 

 My opinion has never been favorable to missionary work, because al- 

 though I recognize that some religions have higher moral principles than 

 others, I think that on the whole they are all intended to accomplish the 

 same purpose, that all are good, when practised in good faith. It has 

 always seemed to me that Christian missionaries sent to heathen 

 countries would be looked upon in the same manner as would be 

 heathen missionaries sent to Christian countries. But even supposing 

 that it should be proper and desirable for the Christian religion, on 

 account of its high morals and principles, to send missionaries to 

 heathen countries for the purpose of converting them to Christianity, 

 that principle would scaracely hold good in Christian countries of 

 different denominations, and Catholicism is a Christian religion what- 

 ever abuses it may have committed, and I think the natural tendency 



