What caused the Cristero Rebellion in Mexico from 1926 to 1929?

The Cristero Rebellion (1926–1929) was primarily caused by the implementation of aggressively anticlerical policies by the Mexican government under President Plutarco Elías Calles.1

These tensions were rooted in the Constitution of 1917, which placed significant restrictions on the Roman Catholic Church, including the promotion of secular education and the limitation of church influence in public life. When Calles enforced these measures in the mid-1920s, the church responded by suspending all religious ceremonies.2341

This state-led persecution, which included the closing of churches and the exile or execution of clergy, prompted a grassroots uprising. The Cristeros—peasantry who rose in defense of their faith—engaged in armed conflict against government forces, attacking government buildings and schools in a struggle that persisted until 1929. It is a fundamental ethical principle that the state should respect the freedom of conscience and the rights of religious communities to exist without state-sponsored persecution or violence.251