Michael Brooks
The Catholic Church has had a long and complex history in Spain, with the religion becoming the state religion in 1851. The Catholic Monarchs Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon established the Spanish Inquisition in 1478, which led to the religious purification of the Iberian Peninsula and the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdom of Spain in 1492. The Reconquista, which lasted from the 710s to 1492, was a period of almost constant warfare between Muslims and Christians in Medieval Spain, resulting in the expansion of Christian kingdoms and the fall of Islamic rule. The Catholic Church became closely aligned with the Spanish state during the Francoist dictatorship, with many priests serving in the government. Anticlerical sentiment and legislation in the 1930s threatened the Church's hegemony, and the burning of churches, convents, and religious schools in Madrid and other cities further displaced moderate Catholicism. While Catholicism remains the most widely professed religion in Spain, secularization has grown strongly since the end of the Francoist dictatorship, and the 1978 Constitution abolished Catholicism as the official religion of the state.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the movement | Spanish Catholic Movement (Movimiento Católico Español, MCE) |
| Year of founding | 1982 |
| Founder | José Luis Corral |
| Type of movement | Minor integralist and nationalist political party |
| Fundamental principles | Catholic confesionality, defense of Spain and Spanish tradition, national syndicalism |
| Opposition to | Liberalism, communism, parliamentarism, abortion, same-sex marriage, feminism, racism |
| Support for | Monarchism |
| Opposition to monarchical houses | House of Bourbon |
| Support for historical figures | José Antonio Primo de Rivera, Francisco Franco |
| Notable actions | Organizing masses, tributes to Blue Division veterans and the "fallen for Spain", rallies against abortion |
| Notable years | 1986 (joined Coalición de Unidad Nacional), 1996 (joined Alianza por la Unidad Nacional), 2014 (joined La España en Marcha) |
| Related historical events | Reconquista, Spanish Inquisition, Expulsion of Jews from Spain |
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What You'll Learn
The Spanish Inquisition
A key feature of the Spanish Inquisition was the auto-da-fe, a public ceremony designed to reinforce the Church's power and the monarchy's control. During these ceremonies, the accused were paraded, sentences were read, and confessions were made. Those found guilty were then turned over to civil authorities for punishment, which often included execution by burning at the stake. Other punishments included penance, public flogging, exile, galley slavery, and prison terms, along with the confiscation of property.
The Inquisition was known for its brutal methods, and it is estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 people were executed during its three-century duration. Additionally, tens of thousands of Spanish Muslims, known as Moriscos, were killed during their forced expulsion in 1609. The Inquisition's methods included the use of torture and coercion to obtain confessions and identify other "heretics."
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The Alhambra Decree
The primary purpose of the Alhambra Decree was to eliminate the influence of practising Jews on Spain's large formerly-Jewish converso New Christian population and to ensure that they and their descendants did not revert to Judaism. The decree accused Jews of trying "to subvert their holy Catholic faith and try to draw faithful Christians away from their beliefs" by teaching them Jewish laws, rituals, and beliefs, providing religious materials and ritually prepared food, and performing circumcisions.
The issuance of the Alhambra Decree came less than three months after the surrender of Granada, marking the end of the Reconquista and the fall of the last Islamic state on the Iberian Peninsula. The Reconquista was a period spanning approximately 770 years, during which there was constant warfare between Muslims and Christians in Medieval Spain. By 1250, nearly all of Iberia was under Christian rule, except for the Muslim kingdom of Granada, which lasted until 1492.
In 1924, the Spanish government granted Spanish citizenship to a part of the Sephardic Jewish diaspora, and the decree was formally revoked in 1968 following the Second Vatican Council. In 2015, the Spanish government passed a law allowing dual citizenship to Jewish descendants who apply, as a form of compensation for the events that occurred due to the Alhambra Decree.
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The Reconquista
The beginning of the Reconquista is traditionally dated to the Battle of Covadonga, which took place around 718 or 722, when the Christian Asturians achieved the first victory over the forces of the Umayyad Caliphate since the beginning of the Muslim invasion. The Kingdom of Asturias became the main base for Christian resistance to Islamic rule in the Iberian Peninsula for several centuries.
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Visigothic rule
The Visigoths were a Germanic tribe that invaded Spain in the years following 410, establishing the Visigothic Kingdom or the Kingdom of the Goths. They were originally settled as foederati in southern Gaul (modern-day France) in 418 and expanded into Hispania, displacing the Suebi and Vandals. The Visigoths were romanized central Europeans who had moved west from the Danube Valley. They became foederati of Rome, seeking to restore Roman order against the hordes of Vandals, Alans, and Suebi.
The Visigothic Kingdom, with its capital in Toledo, reached its high point during the reign of Leovigild. Visigoth rule led to the expansion of Arianism in Spain, a form of Christianity that originated in the teachings of Arius in the 4th century. However, under King Reccared I, the Visigoths converted from Arian Christianity to Nicene Christianity at the Third Council of Toledo in 589, integrating with their Hispano-Roman subjects and strengthening royal legitimacy. This conversion marked the beginning of a movement to unify religious doctrines in Spain.
The Visigothic Kingdom endured for two centuries in Spain and Portugal, leaving a significant cultural and religious impact on the region. The Visigothic Code, established in 654, abolished legal distinctions between Goths and Romans, creating a common identity as Hispani. The kingdom fostered churches and artistic treasures, and its legal code remained influential in Iberian law until the Late Middle Ages.
The Visigothic Kingdom faced internal struggles and external threats throughout its existence. Civil wars and power struggles were common, with various kings and nobles vying for control. The kingdom also faced invasions from the Franks and Muslims, eventually leading to its downfall. In 711, the Muslims led by Ṭāriq ibn Ziyād, the Muslim governor of Tangier, routed King Roderick and the Visigoths near the Guadalete River. The Muslims rapidly overran Spain, and by 716, most of the Iberian Peninsula was under Islamic rule.
The memory of the Visigothic Kingdom inspired the kings of Asturias-León-Castile to initiate the Reconquista (Reconquest), a period spanning approximately 770 years in which Christian kingdoms sought to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Islamic rule. Despite ongoing warfare and the rise of various Christian kingdoms, the unification of the peninsula under a single Catholic monarchy remained a recurring theme until the late 15th century when Ferdinand and Isabella, known as the Catholic Monarchs, established the Spanish Inquisition.
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The Second Spanish Republic
During the Second Spanish Republic, several important social reforms were carried out. The Spanish Constitution of 1931, approved in December of that year, introduced civil marriage and divorce, free and compulsory secular education, freedom of speech, and freedom of association. It also extended suffrage to women and stripped the nobility of their special legal status. These reforms had a significant impact on Spanish society, modernising and Europeanising the country.
However, the Second Spanish Republic was a period of political instability and violence. There was increasing conflict between liberals and conservatives, with various strikes and uprisings occurring. The Republican forces faced a military coup attempt in July 1936, led by General Francisco Franco, which marked the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. During the war, there were three Republican governments, inspired by libertarian socialist, anarchist, and communist principles. Despite initial resistance, the Republicans gradually lost territory, and by early 1939, Barcelona and Madrid had fallen, signalling the end of the Second Spanish Republic and the victory of General Franco's forces.
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Frequently asked questions
The Visigothic Kingdom, which took over Spain in 410 AD, initially led to the expansion of Arianism in Spain. However, in 587 AD, Reccared, the Visigothic king, converted to Catholicism and launched a movement to unify the various religious doctrines in the land, marking a shift towards Catholicism.
The Reconquista was a long process spanning from the 700s to 1492, during which the Catholics reconquered Spain from Islamic rule. This period witnessed constant warfare between Muslims and Christians, and the fall of the Emirate of Granada in 1492 marked the end of Islamic rule in Spain.
The Spanish Inquisition, established in 1478, aimed to complete the religious purification of the Iberian Peninsula. Those found secretly practicing Islam or Judaism faced execution, imprisonment, or expulsion. The Inquisition fueled suspicion and persecution, contributing to the spread of Catholicism and the establishment of Spain as a bulwark of doctrinal purity.
