*** Spanish Civil War religion








The Spanish Civil War: Religion

Spanish Civil War
Figure 1.--This unidentified photograph of children and the ruins of a church was taken in 1937. We suspect the damage was not a Republican action, but an air attck by the Loyalists forces which had support from the Germans and Italians.

The Spanish Civil War was a political struggle, but religion was an issue in Spain even before the Civil War. The left-wing groups that rose to power in Spain were anti-clerical. was dominated by left-wing political parties of various hues, from moderate liberals to Communists and anarchists. The more radical the group, the more hostile they were to religion meaning the Catholic Church in Spain. The Spanish Church was particularly conservative with the history of the Inquisition. The Government as leftists gained power began to institute reforms and among these reforms were efforts to reduce the Church's role in public life. The Church attempted to use its infuence to opose those reforms. The Church was also aware of the virulently atheist campaign beibg waged by the Communists in the Soviet Union which only intensified as Stalin gained power. The Loyalists on the other hand were for the most part devoultly Catholic given their traditional social outlook. The Church heirarchy from the beginning strongly supported Franco and the Nationalists. After the outbreak of the War, the more radical groups in the Republican ranks began targeting leading clerics and soon the Chuch itself. Republican soldiers executed individual clergymen. They also percecuted religious communities. The executions of the well known clerics is fairly well documented. One account has calculated a death toll of 13 bishops, 4,172 diocesan priests and seminarists, 2,364 monks and friars and 283 nuns. [Cueva, p. 355.] There were other killings that were not documented. Remains are still being discovered in Spain. This became known as the Red Terror. As a result, religious groups especially Catholic became hostile to the Reublican. They opposed aid the Republic an in some cases even refugees.

Spanish Church

Europe's attitude toward religion began to shift during the Enligtenment (18th centuty). One of the major political and cultural developments was the conflict between liberals and the religious community led by the Catholic Church (19th century (19th century). This conflict varied over time in each country. There were progressive elements in Europe. Popes since Leo XIII had been slowly constructing a Catholic social alternative to both Marxism and Capitalism. The Spanish Church was among the most conservaticve in Europe and had long been supported by the country's royalist givernments. Spain like the rest of Europe was torn between liberals and conservatives. While other countries were reducing the role of the Church, Catholicism in Spain was made the state religion (1851) The Government in a Concordat with the Holy See agreed to not only pay the salaries of the clergy, but to subsidize other expenses of the Roman Catholic Church as a compensation for the seizure of church property in the Desamortizaci�n de Mendiz�bal. This pact was renounced by the Spanish Republic (1931). The conservative Catholic Church stronly supported the conservatives. As a result, liberal �progressive� groups tended to be anti-clerical. This was especially the case in Spain. The Church in many other countries was forced to side with the forces of the right. In Spain the Church actively supported the right with little discension. The Church attempted to use its infuence to opose progressive reforms. The Episcopate tended to equated Spain with the ruling cultural group in the countrywhich was the Castilians. There were, however divisions along ethnic lines. Catholicism was an important part of the national identity of the Basques. This was just the opposite in Catalonia. Many Catalans saw the Cathoic clergy as an enemy of their nation. Thus the faitgful as the natin itself was fragmnted along historuic ethnic and nationlist lines.

The Republic: Anti-clerical Movement

The Spanish Civil War was a political struggle, but religion was an issue in Spain even before the Civil War. The left-wing groups that rose to power in Spain were anti-clerical. was dominated by left-wing political parties of various hues, from moderate liberals to Communists and anarchists. The more radical the group, the more hostile they were to religion meaning the Catholic Church in Spain. The Government as leftists gained power began to institute reforms and among these reforms were efforts to reduce the Church's role in public life. The Republic renoubced tghe 1851 Cincirdat. The secular constitution of the Second Spanish Republic institute a series of anti-clerical measures that threatened the Church's privlidged position in Spain. This was amajor factor exoplaining the Church's support for Francisco Franco when he laubnched the Civil War (1936). It should be noted that in countries where Pope Leo XIII�s teachings were addressed and supported by the Chuyrch, countries like Belgium and the Netherlands, the Communism were ble to gain little influence. In countries like Spin, however, where the clergy resisted even moderate reformns, the Communists were able to gain considerable influence, especially among workers. Just as the Spanisg Church was fragmented, the Republic was torn by imnternal conflicts between Communist, Socialist and Anarchist factions.

European Church

The Church was also aware of the virulently atheist campaign being waged by the Communists in the Soviet Union which only intensified as Stalin gained power. Less clear at the time was the NAZI assault in religion, especially the Catholic Church. The Church truied to make opeace with the NAZIS with a Concordat (1934). It simply delayed NAZI prsecution.

Nationalist Support for the Church

The Loyalists on the other hand were for the most part devoultly Cathloic given their traditional social outlook. The Church heirarchy from the beginning strongly supported Franco and the Nationalists. Other sectorssupporting the Nationalists (the Army, industry, landowners, and the middle classes) were also sectors in whichthe Church found suppot.

The Red Terror

After the outbreak of the War, the more radical groups in the Republican ranks began targeting leading clerics and soon the Chuch itself. Republican soldiers executed individual clergymen. Some 20 percent of the Spanish clergy was murdered during the civil war. Republican forces also percecuted religious communities. The executions of the well known clerics is fairly well documented. One account has calculated a death toll of 13 bishops, 4,172 diocesan priests and seminarists, 2,364 monks and friars and 283 nuns. [Cueva, p. 355.] There were other killings that were not documented. Remains are still being discovered in Spain. This became known as the Red Terror. The Red Terror varied regionally. Many of the clerical victims were Catalans. The Basque clergy, which tended to support the Republic, was not targeted.

Cultural Values

Spain was a very conservative country, not only politically, but culturally as well. The Church had a stronly puratanical thread. And this was nt altered much nby liberal thinking tht had begun to affect other areas f Western Europe. A factor here was the role that the Church had tradiionally played in education. And the hold the Church had on Spanish women. The Church insisted that women should dress modestly. Not as severe as Muslims today, but still more modestly than other aeas of Europe. Spanish women, for example, did not wear pnts until fter Franco died. Catholic schools tended to have severe dress codes. We are not entirely sure just whu, but left-wing groups tended to have much more relaxed attitudes on cultural issues, including marriage and modest dress. We note that after the Revolution in Russia, the Communists briefly dabbled in free love. This soon chnged even before Stalin gained power. This puritanicl out look seems to be the rule onc Communists have gained power. Communist regimes are notable for their puritanical social values. We note that in Spain, perhas in reaction to clerical puritanism, a definite relaxation in conservative cultural values, including issues like marriage, dress, and modesty.

Overseas Catholics

There was initially considerabkle sympathy for the Republic because Franco's rebellion was seen as as part of the rise of Fascism. Mussolini anf Hitler quickly supplied very significant military assistance. The anti-clerical religious aspects of the Republic caused overseas religious groups especially Catholics to become hostile to the Republic. They opposed any aid to the Republic and this often include aid to even refugees. This proved the case with the tragic story of the Basque refugee children. The Basque;s strongly supported the Republic and thus became a target for Franco's forces. Picasco's iconic work Gurrnica was set in a Basque town. The American Catholic Church became a strident enemy of the Republic. Catholics were a minority iun America, but a substantial minority with siugnificant political clout. The Church's antipathy to the Republic even manifested itself in opposition to aid regugees. They even opposed accepting Basque refugee children, a project First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was advocating.

Sources

(de la) Cueva, Julio. "Religious persecution, anticlerical tradition and revolution: On atrocities against the clergy during the Spanish Civil War," Journal of Contemporary History Vol. 33.3 (July 1998)







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Created: 7:20 PM 5/18/2013
Last updated: 9:45 PM 9/18/2018