News, January 2008

Socialists consider revision of Vatican agreements and Religious Freedom law in 2008 election manifesto

23rd October. The Socialist party (PSOE) is considering including the revision of the 1979 Concordat agreement between Spain and the Vatican, as well as the 1980 Religious Freedom Law in their 2008 general election manifesto. The Socialists are again moving towards a more 'lay' state, in which any religious expression is effectively sidelined. The PSOE is especially concerned that the Roman Catholic Church has excessive privileges in an increasingly 'plural' nation in terms of religious belief.

A committee, under the leadership of former Justice minister Lopez Aguilar (responsible for religious affairs), will assess the convenience of a further push towards the 'lay state' during a second period of socialist rule under president Zapatero. As usual, the object in view is the privileged place of the Catholic church in institutions such as the Armed Forces, which now include an increasing number of immigrants from other religious backgrounds. Mind you, Franco also had his personal security Moroccan Guard! The socialists do not fail to remain aware that the Concordat predates the finalising of the Constitution and that certain agreements are no longer acceptable as a result. Their proclaimed objective is to bring it under the Constitution. One problem is that the very nature of a Concordat makes the relationship with Rome one of an international treaty between two sovereign states, rather than a deal with a religious community, such as has been drawn up with evangelicals, moslems and jews.

However, while the Catholic church is the principal objective, as the evangelical reader will appreciate, the Socialists have been running a crusade over the past legislature against all that smells religious in legislation, touching those sensitive areas of personal values such as abortion, homosexuality, marriage and other issues on which most evangelicals feel strongly. Most recently, the battle has moved to the area of education, with the government introducing the subject 'Education for Citizenship', presenting in a rather doctrinaire way its anti- religious values as part of the package.

Debate opens for evangelicals as to whether their best interests lie with the pro-Catholic right wing Partido Popular, or rather with the claimed defenders of the underdog. With more evangelicals in Spain than ever before, particularly since some recent immigrants already have Spanish citizenship, perhaps it is the moment for them to leave the ghetto and take politics seriously.