Hale, “Religious Institutions and Collective Action”

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 Yucatán. I argue Chiapas exhibits highly decentralized

governance by the Catholic Church whereas Yucatán exhibits centralized

clerical management. This difference accounts for why Chiapas experiences

high levels of indigenous political activism while Yucatán experiences very

little political activism.