Mixed fortunes for the modern day Church
The Catholic Church doesn’t carry the same weight it
once did in Spain. Post Franco, the new constitution
unveiled a secular society; people could worship
whatever religion they chose. Divorce was finally
legalised, while religious education became an optional
part of the school curriculum and children were no
longer faced with Holy Communion and confession.
As in much of Europe, congregations have been
declining ever since, aided here by the Francoist
associations.The current situation often pitches Church
and State into dispute.The recent Socialist government
of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero variously wound up
the old religious guard by looking to relax the laws on
divorce and abortion, by authorising stem cell research
and – to loudest indignation – by refusing to reintroduce
compulsory RE lessons to state schools. In 2005 same-
sex marriages were legalised, a popular move that saw
some 4,500 ceremonies in the first twelve months
alone. In the same year, on the island ofTenerife, Spain
got its first married Roman Catholic priest, Father David
Gliwitzki.They’ve got to attract new recruits somehow;
many more priests retire from the Church annually than
are ordained.Despite the decline in clerical clout, the Catholic Church
in Spain is still propped up with public money. Unless
taxpayers tick the relevant box directing money to
other socially based projects, a cut of their income tax
goes to the Catholic Church.The system was due for
dissolution back in the 1980s but remains in place today.
Aside from all such thorny issues, Spain, somewhat
enigmatically, remains bound to its Catholic roots.
Indeed, when the chips are down, many still resort to
their faith, however dusty.316- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Roman Catholicism is
still the dominant
religion in Spain, with
some 80 per cent of
Spaniards professing
to be Catholic.
Estimates vary, but
most agree that less
than 30 per cent of the
population are actually
practising Catholics.
Two per cent of the
population pursue other
religions – Islam now
takes the biggest share –
while around 18 per cent
claim to have no religion
or be atheist.
The faithful few