Religious Institutions and Collective Action: The Catholic Church and Political Activism in Indigenous Chiapas and Yucatan

Why do religious organizations facilitate secular political activism in some settings but not others? I contend that where religious institutions are characterized by decentralized local governance, they are more likely to facilitate political activism. Drawing on nine months of field research and 60 interviews, I conduct a qualitative comparison between the Mexican states of Chiapas and Yucatan. I argue Chiapas exhibits highly decentralized governance by the Catholic Church whereas Yucatan exhibits centralized clerical management. This difference accounts for why Chiapas experiences high levels of indigenous political activism while Yucatan experiences very little political activism.