Religion and consciousness: An essay in the sociology of religion in Chiapas. The Church and the EZLN, 2000

Abstract

The 1994 uprising of a numerous, well-organized multi-ethnic Indigenous group was disturbing in the face of the triumphant “end” of Carlos Salinas’s presidency and the formal start of NAFTA. For Mexicans it was a major event at the close of the twentieth century: the awakening of a new national and international consciousness of humility and reproach for our racism and neglect of Indigenous peoples, and of the vital challenge of effectively integrating them into national life within a framework of social justice, at the risk of calling into question the very essence of our identities and our future transition to democratic forms of public life.