SPAIN
Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
Section 16 of the 1978 Constitution of Spain (revised in 2011)[1] guarantees the fundamental right to freedom of ideology, religion, and private and collective worship. These rights are mostly regulated by Organic Law 7/1980 for Religious Freedom, as well as by other laws that complete its regulation as a special right.[2] These are Royal Decree 594/2015 of 3 July 2015, which regulates the Registration of Religious Entities;[3] Royal Decree 932/2013 of 29 November 2013, which regulates the Advisory Committee on Religious Freedom;[4] Royal Decree 593/2015 of 3 July 2015, which regulates the declaration of establishment of religious confessions in Spain[5] and, finally, Royal Decree 589/1984 of 8 February 1984, pertaining to the religious foundations of the Catholic Church.[6]
Due to its indirect application to religious freedom, one can also cite the Organic Law 1/2002 of 22 March 2002,[7] which governs the right of association, as well as the establishment of religious foundations through Law 50/2002 of 26 December 2002.[8]
The international agreements between the State of Spain and the Holy See,[9] and the agreements with the Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities (Federación de Entidades Religiosas Evangélicas - FEREDE),[10] the Federation of Jewish Communities (FCJE),[11] and the Spanish Islamic Commission (CIE)[12] are also worth mentioning.
The legal framework is comprised of other laws related to labour and social security,[13] minors, foreigners, subsidiary asylum and protection, religious freedom in the Spanish Armed Forces, education, legal protection for freedom of conscience, hate speech against religious feelings, economic matters and tax issues, etc.[14]
Marriages conducted according to the rites of “well-established” religious entities produce civil effects and are registered with the Civil Registry. Likewise, marriages that are declared null by ecclesiastical courts, or pontifical decisions about marriages that were validly celebrated, but not consummated, can have civil effects as well.[15]
Organic Law 2/2010 of 3 March 2010, on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy,[16] and Organic Law 3/2021 of 24 March 2021, on the Regulation of Euthanasia,[17] define the right to conscientious objection of health professionals who do not wish to participate in abortions or euthanasia.
However, these matters are not settled. The decision to allow minors to have an abortion without the prior consent of their parents or guardians, as provided for in law, continues to be particularly controversial. A ruling (STC 92/2024 of 18 June 2024) by Spain’s Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional de España) affirmed the right for women aged 16, and over, to terminate a pregnancy without the consent of a minor’s legal representatives. The decision states that the law does not violate the ban on arbitrariness by public authorities, nor the right of parents to ensure that their children receive a religious and moral education in accordance with their convictions, nor does it oppose the duty to protect prenatal life.[18] In another ruling (STC 44/2023 of 9 May 2023) the Court rejected the claim of unconstitutionality against the Organic Law 2/2010 of 3 March 2010.[19]
Likewise, the Constitutional Court heard appeals challenging the constitutionality of the Euthanasia law. On 22 March 2023, in STC 19/2023, it dismissed a petition by the VOX political party to overturn Organic Law 3/2021, upholding the law’s constitutionality.[20]
In November 2022, the Criminal Code of Spain[21] was amended to criminalise the harassment of women who go to abortion clinics.[22] This too was challenged before the Constitutional Court, which dismissed the appeal.[23] However, this new criminal offence could clash with the freedom of conscience and freedom of religion of those who protest in front of such facilities. Existing administrative practice had already covered similar situations for years, allowing protests as long as they were not visible from the entrance to a clinic. This is referred to as an “invisible protest”.[24]
Spain is party to several international treaties that protect religious freedom that apply to Spanish law.[25]
Finally, Royal Decree 204/2024 of 27 February 2024 makes changes to the Sub-General-Directorate for Religious Freedom as the highest administrative body in charge of religious freedom, creating a General Directorate for Relations with Religious Confessions. This had been a longstanding demand from several religious groups who wanted to see a return to the administrative framework as it existed before.[26]
Incidents and developments
Several serious incidents of physical violence with a religious overtone were reported during the period under review. A sacristan was murdered in an apparent jihadi attack in Algeciras on 25 January 2023 that also left a Salesian priest wounded, along with a Moroccan man thought by the attacker to be a convert.[27] On 7 July 2023, a man punched a priest in Santiago de Compostela, and then tried to stab him with a pen while he was distributing Communion, screaming insults against the Church and the Bishops’ Conference.[28] The most serious attack, however, took place in Gilet (Valencia) when a man broke into a monastery yelling “I am Jesus Christ” and attacked four friars, killing one. The culprit was a man with a criminal record and mental health problems.[29]
The process of removing religious symbols from public spaces, under the auspices of the Law of Democratic Memory, continues.[30] One such case occurred in Castellón de la Plana, on 4 January 2023, when the local government ordered the removal of a cross from the Ribalta Park because it was considered “Francoist”.[31] A similar event was reported in Monforte del Cid, Alicante.[32] This controversy was settled following a ruling by the Superior Court of Justice of the Community of Valencia, which stipulated that crosses in public spaces have lost their connection with the promotion of the Franco regime by the passage of time, and are therefore merely religious elements, and their removal is illegal.[33]
Desecrations of Catholic places of worship and the Eucharist happen regularly in Spain. A place of worship was desecrated in Sieteiglesias, Madrid, on 7 February 2023, and its tabernacle was stolen.[34] Another tabernacle was desecrated in the Church of San Cipriano, in Cobeña, Madrid.[35] The same happened in a hospital chapel in Cádiz.[36]
Several attacks on places of worship, especially Catholic ones, have also been reported. These incidents often occur on Women’s Day when feminist groups vandalise Christian churches. The Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in Sabadell, was targeted on 8 March 2023, when feminists pasted posters on the doors and painted the entrance purple, while the faithful prayed inside.[37] Mosques are also frequently subjected to vandalism, although in one case on 7 August 2023, the situation deteriorated with the arrival of a group of neo-Nazis who entered a mosque during a prayer service and yelled screams and threats.[38]
Incidents that could be described as hate crimes took place throughout the country in 2023 and 2024. According to a report published by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, in 2023 hate crimes related to antisemitism and against religious beliefs or practices grew by 76.92 percent and 17.02 percent respectively.[39]
Antisemitism rose in the wake of the attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023. The FCJE decried attacks against Jews and pro-Israel Gentiles (in schools or streets) and social media.[40] In some cases, their properties were targeted as well. In Barcelona, on 17 April 2023, a wall of the Maimonides Synagogue was painted with the slogan: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. Solidarity with the Palestinian people”.[41] Similar cases were reported in Madrid[42] and Melilla.[43] However, the FCJE acknowledged the work of the Spanish security forces, which it described as “very satisfactory”. An awareness guide and a National Plan against Antisemitism were produced according to directives issued by the European Commission.[44]
During the period under review, individuals were arrested just for praying in public. On 27 November 2023 for example, a woman was arrested for reciting the rosary in front of the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, near the headquarters of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE), in Madrid. According to the prayer organiser, authorities claimed the ban was due to a late submission of the request, however, the organiser rejected this explanation. The Rosary continues to be prayed daily on the sidewalk outside the Parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.[45]
The recurrence of conflicts between artistic freedom and protection of religious beliefs remains a problem since there is no consensus on how to reconcile the two. Despite the author’s interest in creating publicity, many forms of artistic expression have caused serious moral harm and outrage among believers — Christians in particular. In one case, a program host on public television exhibited a poster of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with the head of a cow, offending Christian religious sentiments.[46] Classic cases of mockery against the Catholic religion include chirigotas (humorous carnival choral folksongs typical of Cádiz) with groups of musicians disguised as bishops distributing communion.[47] In other cases, Christian symbols are ridiculed in exhibitions[48] or via photomontages in satirical magazines.[49]
As a result, freedom of expression and freedom of religion have often found themselves at loggerheads. While the Criminal Code of Spain has been modified to criminalise the harassment of women entering abortion clinics, freedom of expression does not apply to those who disagree with abortion. This leaves Spain in a situation where silent vigils outside abortion clinics are illegal, but where activists of the radical feminist group Femen can protest topless outside places of worship and pro-life centres in favour of abortion with no legal consequences. A case in point took place on 2 June 2023 with topless female protesters exhibiting messages on their torsos that read, “You don’t pray, you harass”,[50] or , on another occasion when pro-abortion feminists harangued parishioners directing insults and offences at both them and their faith in the Church of Santa María del Remedio, Barcelona, on 31 March 2023, reacting to the local parish priest’s call to join in the “40 days for life” prayer campaign.[51]
On 17 September 2024, the Government of Spain proposed changes to the Criminal Code in order to remove “offending religious feelings” (Article 525,1)[52] from the Criminal Code. This is included in Section 2.4.3 of its “Action Plan for Democracy”,[53] which proposes “a comprehensive reform of the articles of the Criminal Code that may affect the right to freedom of expression and artistic creation, among other cases in reference to state institutions, involving offences against religious feelings or public scorn”.[54] Most religious confessions, both Christian and non-Christian, signed a joint press release against this measure, declaring that this goes against religious freedom.[55]
Restrictions on the use of public spaces for religious expressions also continue. In one case, on 29 May 2023, the Madrid City Council forbade the “Pray for Spain” gathering.[56]
Another aspect of religious freedom that has been repeatedly violated is the right to erect places of worship, with many local governments enacting limitations. One example is the General Development Plan of Lorca (Murcia) which prohibits the use of the ground floor of buildings as a place of worship, and mandates that they be placed in dedicated structures.[57]
Recognition of the right to asylum and/or subsidiary protection by persecuted believers is still a pending issue. Neither the administrative practices of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, nor the local jurisprudence are particularly protective of religious freedom. On 5 November 2023, Chinese Christians persecuted for their beliefs in their home country were denied asylum, and some were deported putting their lives at risk.”[58]
In October 2023, the Spanish Ombudsman’s “Report on Sexual Abuse in the Context of the Catholic Church and the Role of Public Authorities” was made public.[59] The investigation justly laid bare the hideous crimes of child sexual abuse, though was unequal in its treatment of perpetrators, restricting the report only to the Catholic Church, and thus neglecting the victims of other social contexts. The study found that up to 1.13 percent of the adult Spanish population had been subjected to child sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy and lay persons associated with the Church, whereas 11.7 percent of the people surveyed indicated that they had suffered some form of sexual abuse.[60]
The report was presented in the Spanish Parliament on 27 October 2023,[61] and was followed on 23 April 2024 by the presentation of a government plan to act on the ombudsman’s recommendations.[62] Politician groups, known for their critical stance towards the Catholic Church, proposed setting up a parliamentary subcommittee to offer a comprehensive response, but focused only on those victims of the Catholic Church.[63]
According to Carlos López Segovia, the vice secretary for General Affairs of the Bishops’ Conference, the Church response has been vigorous. “The Spanish Church has taken the lead in the fight against abuse,” says. To this end, the Church is helping abuse victims and has trained 152,000 adults and 103,000 children how to spot and report potential abuse.[64] As Vice Secretary López Segovia pointed out before the Catalan Parliament’s Committee of Enquiry, the steps undertaken by the Catholic Church “have led to the gradual and steady reduction of cases of abuse,” [65] which are unrepresentative of what is happening in Spain.
Of further concern is the lack of protection given by the courts to religious freedom in the area of parent-child relations when religious issues pit parents against each other. The Constitutional Court has issued two important rulings in this regard. STC 5/2023 of 20 February 2023 upheld the wishes of a father who was opposed to the baptism and religious education of his son,[66] and STC 26/2024 of 14 February 2024 determined that when parents have different opinions, “neutrality” should prevail when it comes to choosing a school, and therefore a non-denominational establishment should be selected.[67]
Finally, the most relevant infringement of the right to religious freedom is found in STC 132/2024 of 4 November 2024.[68] By changing the criteria established by the Supreme Court, the ruling infringes upon the autonomy of religious confessions, as recognised in existing legislation, and undermines the un-renounceable autonomy in the self-organisation of religious groups. In this case, the Supreme Court upheld the complaint of a woman who was denied membership in the La Laguna Confraternity, whose by-laws reserve admittance to men. This ruling opens the door to gender-based activism against the internal regulations of any religious entity.
References to religious issues and religious freedom are also difficult to find in the manifestos of political parties that ran in the elections of 2023.[69] There are, however, some hopeful exceptions, such as the Draft Law to Refuse Funding of Development Cooperation in countries where the religious freedom of Christians is not respected, which was presented in the Chamber of Deputies on 12 June 2024.[70]
Prospects for freedom of religion
Religious freedom in Spain is guaranteed by the authorities and in law. However, there is no shortage of problems, some of which have been recurrent and seem, as yet, not to have a solution.
The first of these is the lack of appreciation for religion as such, and for religious freedom, by large segments of society, most political parties, mass media and even the civil administration.
This only compounds pre-existing issues such as political and court decisions that diminish or even run counter to religious freedom and sentiment, such as the broad legal protection granted for freedom of expression and artistic creation at the expense of religious sentiments, including proposals for the decriminalisation of the offence and the offenders, despite the opposition of all religious groups. Of concern is that freedom of expression, when it involves the expression of religious beliefs, might also be eventually curtailed. The apparent disregard for religious freedom in the context of the family when confronted with secular ideals in cases regarding the custody of children is also of concern.
Bishops, priests and religious, as well as places of worship, continue to be the target of attacks, both physical and moral, while the authorities and much of society seem to be impervious to the messages of hatred against believers that these attacks represent.
Finally, the disregard of the right to autonomy of religious denominations in the face of gender issues, which are interpreted as overriding any protection of the essential content of this right, is very worrying.
Despite these problems, the outlook for religious freedom in Spain remains relatively positive and is not expected to change in the near future.
Sources
Spain