Key Takeaways
The simple idea
- A secular state is not run by any church, and its laws do not come from religious authority.
Mexico (North America)
- Mexico calls itself a secular republic and sets a legal separation between the state and churches.
Argentina (South America)
- Argentina’s constitution says the federal government supports the Roman Catholic faith, so the relationship is not the same as in Mexico.
Money and clergy
- Argentina had a long-running public allowance system for certain bishops, linked to a judge’s salary, but that system was formally given up by the bishops and completed at the end of December 2023.
A word that points to the army
- A formal Spanish adjective that means “military” comes from Latin for “camp,” and it often appears in topics like military chaplaincy and military courts.
Story & Details
What this article is about
As of January 9, 2026, questions about secular states can still feel confusing, especially when people hear two things at once: “this country is secular” and “the state gives money to Catholic leaders.” This piece explains what a secular state means in law and in daily life, using Mexico (North America) and Argentina (South America) as clear examples, and it also explains a military-related Spanish term whose roots go back to Latin.
What “secular state” means in practice
A secular state is a state that does not belong to a church. It does not let a church rule public life. It can still protect freedom of religion, so people can believe, worship, or not believe. In a secular system, the key test is not “Is religion present in society?” Religion can be present. The key test is “Who makes the rules of the state, and do the rules belong to everyone?”
A second test is money. Public money can show how close a state is to a church. But money can also be complex. A state may pay for heritage buildings or social services without paying priests. So the question needs a careful split: support for faith itself is one thing; support for public services is another.
Mexico (North America): a clear secular label and legal separation
Mexico’s constitution describes the country as a representative, democratic, federal, and secular republic. It also states that the historic principle of separation between the state and churches guides the rules on religion. In simple terms, this means the state does not have an official church, and churches do not run the state.
So, what about clergy pay in Mexico (North America)? The normal model is that churches pay their own ministers. Parish life is funded by believers, donations, and church resources, not by a general state salary for parish priests. The practical takeaway is simple: Mexico’s legal design is built to keep public authority and church authority apart, even if people in society remain deeply religious.
Argentina (South America): constitutional support and a specific allowance system
Argentina (South America) often gets called “secular” in daily speech because it has religious freedom and modern democratic institutions. But the constitutional text also includes a special line: the federal government supports the Roman Catholic faith. That does not automatically mean there is an official state religion in the strict sense used in some countries, but it does mean the constitution itself creates a special bond of support.
That bond became very visible through a specific public allowance system. A national law from 1979 set monthly allowances for certain Catholic leaders. The law tied those payments to the salary level of a national first-instance judge. In broad terms, it set a high percentage for archbishops and diocesan bishops, and a lower percentage for auxiliary bishops. It also set limits, such as not combining that allowance with certain other paid public roles, and it linked the allowance to holding the office.
This is the detail many people sense when they say, “Argentina (South America) is secular, but the state pays bishops.” The detail is real, but it is also narrower than “the state pays all priests.” It focused on specific senior roles.
The renunciation process: what it was, and what it was not
A key point is the meaning of “renunciation” here. It did not mean bishops resigning their religious office. It meant refusing the state-funded allowances.
Argentina’s bishops began a long process to stop accepting these public allowances. Reporting in early January 2024 described the process as a decision taken years earlier and then carried out step by step, until it was completed on December 31, 2023. The shift was framed as the church choosing to fund itself, rather than receive this form of state support.
There were also limited carve-outs discussed in reporting, especially for some retired bishops, where continued support could remain possible under specific conditions. This matters for one practical reason: changes like this are rarely one clean cut for every person at the same moment. Systems unwind through rules, exceptions, and individual situations.
So who pays today?
For bishops covered by the renunciation, the main answer is: the Catholic Church in Argentina (South America) pays through its own structures. That usually means dioceses and church institutions, supported by donations, parish giving, and other lawful income sources. Separate from clergy pay, public support can still exist for services like education when private schools receive subsidies under broader public rules, which can include Catholic schools as part of that wider system.
A military word, and why it appears in church topics
A separate question that often follows is about a military-related Spanish term used in church and legal phrases. In Spanish, a formal adjective can mean “of the army” or “military.” It shows up in phrases about military courts, military life, and military chaplaincy.
Its root is Latin. The Latin noun for “camp” gave rise to a Latin adjective meaning “belonging to the camp” and, by extension, “belonging to the army.” Over time, that idea traveled into Spanish as a compact, formal adjective for military matters. This is why the word can feel old-fashioned and official: it carries the sound of older institutions—army, law, and religion—living close together.
History helps explain that closeness. In Spain (Europe), for example, military chaplain structures changed sharply in the twentieth century, including a period when an official chaplain corps was dissolved. Even when institutions change, the vocabulary often stays. Words keep a memory of how states and churches once worked side by side, especially in military life.
Conclusions
A clean way to hold the two examples in mind
Mexico (North America) and Argentina (South America) both protect religious life, but they do it through different constitutional designs. Mexico’s text is explicit about being a secular republic and about separating state authority from churches. Argentina’s text includes a special constitutional support line for the Roman Catholic faith, and Argentina also had a defined public allowance system for senior Catholic leaders.
The most practical lesson
When someone asks whether a country is “secular,” the best answer is not a single label. It is a short check of three things: what the constitution says, what the laws do, and what the public budget supports. That is the difference between a slogan and a clear picture.
Selected References
[1] Political Constitution of the United Mexican States (English version updated through reforms published on November 30, 2012) — https://www.te.gob.mx/sites/default/files/consultas/2012/04/cpeum_ingl_s_reformas_al_30nov_2012_pdf_69279.pdf
[2] Constitution of the Argentine Nation (English translation) — https://biblioteca.jus.gov.ar/Argentina-Constitution.pdf
[3] Argentina: Law 21,950 (official text) — https://www.argentina.gob.ar/normativa/nacional/ley-21950-71184/texto
[4] Argentine bishops renounce government-funded stipends (Crux) — https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-americas/2024/02/argentine-bishops-renounce-government-funded-stipends
[5] Argentine church stops receiving state funding (National Catholic Register) — https://www.catholicregister.org/item/66-argentine-church-stops-receiving-state-funding
[6] Mexican Law of Religion at 28 Years of the Constitutional Reform on Religious Matters (peer-reviewed, open access) — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7229517/
[7] Dictionary entry for the Spanish adjective meaning “military” (Royal Spanish Academy) — https://dle.rae.es/castrense
[8] The Spanish Republic and Civil War (historical reading on church–state and military changes) — https://psi329.cankaya.edu.tr/uploads/files/casanova-2%20(1).pdf
[9] The Tibetan People’s Transition to Secular Democracy (Hoover Institution Library & Archives, YouTube) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3JzrV3OeKg
Appendix
Allowance
An allowance is a regular payment set by law or policy, often tied to holding a role; it can look like a salary, but it is defined as a specific kind of public support.
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop is a bishop who helps lead a diocese but does not head it; in some systems, support rules can differ between a diocesan bishop and an auxiliary bishop.
Bishop
A bishop is a senior leader in the Catholic Church who oversees a diocese; the role is religious, but some states have historically linked it to public funding rules.
Chaplaincy
A chaplaincy is a service that provides religious support inside an institution such as the armed forces, hospitals, or prisons; the chaplain may be paid by the institution, the church, or both, depending on the country.
Constitution
A constitution is a country’s highest legal text; when it names religion or sets separation rules, it shapes what “secular state” means in law.
Dutch phrase practice
Dutch is spoken in the Netherlands (Europe) and Belgium (Europe); a simple Dutch way to say the core idea is “De staat is seculier.” Meaning in one plain line: it states that the state is secular; word-by-word: De = the, staat = state, is = is, seculier = secular; register: neutral and formal; a close, common variant is “De staat is neutraal.” with neutraal = neutral.
Federal support clause
A federal support clause is a line in a constitution saying the federal government supports a particular faith; it signals a special relationship even when religious freedom exists.
Judge-linked stipend
A judge-linked stipend is a payment level set as a percentage of a judge’s salary, so it rises or falls with that benchmark instead of using a fixed cash amount.
Latin castra
Latin castra means “camp” and is strongly linked to army life; it is a root behind several later words that point to military settings.
Military ordinariate
A military ordinariate is a church structure that serves members of the armed forces and their families; it can exist alongside normal dioceses and often connects to chaplains and military institutions.
Renunciation
Renunciation, in this context, means refusing a benefit or payment; it does not mean leaving a religious office or quitting a role.
Secular state
A secular state is a state that does not belong to a church and does not let religious authority govern public law; it can still protect religious freedom for everyone.
Separation principle
A separation principle is a constitutional idea that state authority and church authority are different and should not control each other, especially in lawmaking and public power.
Stipend
A stipend is a regular payment linked to a role or duty; it may be called an allowance, support, or compensation depending on the legal system.
Suffix -ensis
The Latin suffix -ensis is used to form adjectives that mean “belonging to” or “from” a place or setting; it helps explain how “camp” can become “of the camp,” and then “military.”
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 