Catholic Church in Spain | |
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Spanish: Iglesia Católica en España | |
Type | National polity |
Classification | Catholic |
Orientation | Latin |
Scripture | Bible |
Theology | Catholic theology |
Polity | Episcopal |
Governance | CEE |
Pope | Francis |
Primate | Francisco Cerro Chaves |
Region | Spain |
Language | Spanish, Latin |
Headquarters | Calle Añastro, 1. 28033 Madrid |
Founder | Apostles James and Paul |
Origin | 1st century Hispania, Roman Empire |
Separations | Protestantism in Spain Palmarian Catholic Church |
Members | 32,364,000 [1] |
Official website | CEE |
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The Spanish Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Spain, is part of the Catholic Church under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome, and the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 establishes the non-denominationality of the State, providing that the public authorities take into account the religious beliefs of society, maintaining cooperative relations with the Catholic Church and other confessions. Thus, the relations between the Spanish State and the Holy See are regulated by the 1976 agreement and the three 1979 agreements, which modified and replaced the previous 1953 concordat. [2] [3]
According to Romans 15:28, Christianity could have been present in Spain from a very early period. St. Paul intend to go to Hispania to preach the gospel there after visiting the Romans along the way. But there is no clear evidence if he ever made it. [4] After 410 AD, Spain was taken over by the Visigoths who had been converted to Arianism around 360. From the 5th to the 7th century, about thirty synods, were held at Toledo to regulate and standardise matters of discipline, decreed uniformity of liturgy throughout the kingdom. Medieval Spain was the scene of almost constant warfare between Islamic and Christian kingdoms. Islamic and Christian people generally lived in peaceful co-existence under Islamic rule such as in Al-Andalus, as long as the Christians payed the religious taxes and hold no weapons in their homes, with many instances of inter-religious marriage, of Muslim men with Christian women focusing on converting masses to Islam through the familiar power of the father-figure back then. However, there was tension from the Pope and the Catholic Church to oppose Islamic rule in Spain and to "reclaim" Europe. This was the period of the so-called "Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain". The Almohads, who had taken control of the Almoravids' Maghrebi and Andalusian territories by 1147, far surpassed the Almoravids in Islamic fundamentalism, and they notably treated the non-Islamic dhimmis harshly. Faced with the choice of death, conversion, or emigration, many Jews fled to North Africa and Egypt. [5]
The Reconquista was the long process by which the Catholics reconquered Spain from Islamic rule by 1492. The Spanish Inquisition was established in 1478 to complete the religious purification of the Iberian Peninsula. In the centuries that followed, Spain saw itself as the bulwark of Catholicism and doctrinal purity.
Spanish missionaries carried Catholicism to the Americas and the Philippines, establishing various missions in the newly colonized lands. The missions served as a base for both administering colonies as well as spreading Christianity.
According to Juan Avilés Farré, Catholicism constituted the "doctrinal basis of the most significant organizations of the anti-democratic and anti-liberal right-wing" in Spain developed in the period going from the demise of right-wing liberal conservatism led by Cánovas del Castillo to the installment of the Francoist dictatorship, including maurism, Patriotic Union, the group around Acción Española and Falange Española. [6]
The Catholic Church in Spain supported Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War and afterwards established a close relationship with the Spanish state, with many Catholic priests serving in the government. After the Second Vatican Council, relations between Church and State started to deteriorate, especially during the reign of Pope Paul VI. [7]
The Spanish Church oversees one of the greatest repositories of religious architecture (and art) in the world, among them the outstanding cathedrals of Cordoba (originally built as a church and then replaced by a mosque during Moorish rule, to be subsequently reconsecrated as a Church), Santiago de Compostela, Burgos, León, Seville, Toledo and the Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza. There are also magnificent monasteries like San Millán and Silos in La Rioja, Monstserrat and Poblet in Catalonia, El Escorial and El Paular in Madrid, San Juan de los Reyes in Castile-La Mancha, the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas in Castile and Leon, or churches like Sagrada Família in Barcelona by Antoni Gaudí.
Holy Week (Spanish : Semana Santa) in Spain attracts thousands of pilgrims and tourists alike. For centuries Holy Week has had a special significance in the church calendar in Spain, where early on Good Friday the darkened streets of dawn become the stage for solemn processions and celebrations that lead up to festivities of Easter Sunday. Fifty-eight processions (according to a 2008 guide) parallel the health and wealth of the city from the 16th and 17th centuries of its golden age to the French Invasion in the 18th century and finally to its rebirth today in the twentieth century. Despite church attendances falling, in common with the rest of Europe, the Easter processions are expanding, as many newly formed brotherhoods have asked for permission from bishops and other authorities to process during Holy Week. [8]
For over a thousand years, Europeans living north of the Alps have made their way to the closest place in Europe "where they could access the spiritual authority of an Apostle: Santiago de Compostela.". [9] In 2007, for example, over 100,000 people walked to Santiago de Compostela alone. [10]
There are over 42 million baptized, covering about 92% of the total population. There are 70 dioceses and archdioceses. Some studies indicate that the percentage of the population that identifies as Catholic is closer to 60%. [11]
In spite of strong traditions, most Spaniards do not participate regularly in religious services. A study conducted in October 2006 by the Spanish Centre of Sociological Research [12] shows that of the Spaniards who identify themselves as religious, 54% hardly ever or never go to church (except for wedding and funerals), 15% go to church some times a year, 10% some time per month and 19% every Sunday or multiple times per week. A huge majority of young Spaniards, including those who self-identify as Catholic, ignore the Church's stance on issues such as pre-marital sex, sexual orientation or contraception. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] 75% of Spanish Catholics support same-sex marriage and 13% oppose it. 91% of Spanish Catholics believe society should accept gay people while 8% believe society should not accept gays. [18]
The total number of parish priests has shrunk from 24,300 in 1975 to 19,307 in 2005. Nuns also dropped 6.9% to 54,160 in the period 2000–2005. [19]
According to the Eurobarometer 69 (2008), another independent source, only 3% of Spaniards consider religion as one of their three most important values, while the European mean is 7%. [20]
As of 1 July 2024, Spain had a total population of 48,797,875 The modern Kingdom of Spain arose from the accretion of several independent Iberian realms, including the Kingdoms of León, Castile, Navarre, the Crown of Aragon and Granada, all of which, together with the modern state of Portugal, were successor states to the late antique Christian Visigothic Kingdom after the Reconquista.
The golden age of Jewish culture in Spain, which coincided with the Middle Ages in Europe, was a period of Muslim rule during which Jews were accepted in society and Jewish religious, cultural, and economic life flourished.
Christianity is the largest religion in Belgium, with the Catholic Church representing the largest community, though it has experienced a significant decline since the 1950s. Belgium's policy separates the state from the churches, and freedom of religion of the citizens is guaranteed by the country's constitution.
The Camino de Santiago, or in English the Way of St. James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition holds that the remains of the apostle are buried.
Convivencia is an academic term, proposed by the Spanish philologist Américo Castro, regarding the period of Spanish history from the Muslim Umayyad conquest of Hispania in the early eighth century until the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. It claims that in the different Moorish Iberian kingdoms, the Muslims, Christians and Jews lived in relative peace. According to this interpretation of history, this period of religious diversity differs from later Spanish and Portuguese history when—as a result of expulsions and forced conversions—Catholicism became the sole religion in the Iberian Peninsula.
The Catholic branch of Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Spain, with high levels of secularization as of 2024. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Spanish Constitution.
Religion has been a major influence on the societies, cultures, traditions, philosophies, artistic expressions and laws within present-day Europe. The largest religion in Europe is Christianity. However, irreligion and practical secularisation are also prominent in some countries. In Southeastern Europe, three countries have Muslim majorities, with Christianity being the second-largest religion in those countries. Ancient European religions included veneration for deities such as Zeus. Modern revival movements of these religions include Heathenism, Rodnovery, Romuva, Druidry, Wicca, and others. Smaller religions include Indian religions, Judaism, and some East Asian religions, which are found in their largest groups in Britain, France, and Kalmykia.
Spain is a Christian majority country, with Islam being a minority religion, practised mostly by immigrants from Muslim majority countries, and their descendants.
The Catholic Church in Europe is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See in Rome, including represented Eastern Catholic missions. Demographically, Catholics are the largest religious group in Europe.
Christians in Morocco constitute less than 1% of the country's population of 33,600,000. Most of the Christian adherents are Catholic and Protestants.
The Battle of Clavijo is a mythical battle, believed for centuries to be historical, which became a popular theme of Spanish traditions regarding the Christian expulsion of the Muslims. Stories about the battle first arose centuries after it allegedly occurred; according to these stories, it was fought near Clavijo between Christians led by Ramiro I of Asturias and Muslims led by the Emir of Córdoba.The Diccionario de historia de España (1968) says: "To a serious historian, the existence of the Battle of Clavijo is not even a topic of discussion."
Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Peru, with Catholicism being its largest denomination.
Christianity has a strong tradition of pilgrimages, both to sites relevant to the New Testament narrative and to sites associated with later saints or miracles.
The Catholic Church in Spain has a long history, starting in the 1st century. It is the largest religion in Spain, with 58.6% of Spaniards identifying as Catholic.
Saint James the Moor-slayer is the name given to the representation of the apostle James the Great, as a legendary, miraculous figure who appeared at the also legendary Battle of Clavijo, helping the Christians conquer the Muslim Moors.
Almohad doctrine or Almohadism was the ideology underpinning the Almohad movement, founded by Ibn Tumart, which created the Almohad Empire during the 12th to 13th centuries. Fundamental to Almohadism was Ibn Tumart's radical interpretation of tawḥid—"unity" or "oneness"—from which the Almohads get their name: al-muwaḥḥidūn (المُوَحِّدون).
The Nationalist faction or Rebel faction was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup of July 1936 against the Second Spanish Republic and Republican faction and sought to depose Manuel Azaña, including the Falange, the CEDA, and two rival monarchist claimants: the Alfonsist Renovación Española and the Carlist Traditionalist Communion. In 1937, all the groups were merged into the FET y de las JONS. After the death of the faction's early leaders, General Francisco Franco, one of the members of the 1936 coup, headed the Nationalists throughout most of the war, and emerged as the dictator of Spain until his death in 1975.
Reverter I de La Guardia, viscount of Barcelona, was a Catalan adventurer and military leader who defended the Almoravid caliphate in North Africa against the Almohad onslaught.
Antisemitism in Spain is the expression through words or actions of an ideology of hatred towards Jews on Spanish soil.
The history of the far-right in Spain dates back to at least the 1800s and refers to any manifestation of far-right politics in Spain. Individuals and organizations associated with the far-right in Spain often employ reactionary traditionalism, religious fundamentalism, corporate Catholicism, and fascism in their ideological practice. In the case of Spain, according to historian Pedro Carlos González Cuevas, the predominance of Catholicism played an essential role in the suppression of external political innovations such as Social Darwinism, positivism, and vitalism in Spanish far-right politics.