Protestant Missionaries in Spain, 1869–1936: “Shall the Papists Prevail?” by Kent Eaton

Abstract

Reviewed by: Protestant Missionaries in Spain, 1869–1936: “Shall the Papists Prevail?” by Kent Eaton William J. Callahan Protestant Missionaries in Spain, 1869–1936: “Shall the Papists Prevail?” By Kent Eaton. (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, an imprint of Rowman & Little-field. 2015. Pp. xvii, 363. $110.00. ISBN 978-0-7391-9409-6.) This solidly researched study covers the period between the revolution of 1868, the most progressive and democratic of Spain’s nineteenth-century political upheavals, and the outbreak of the Civil War in July 1936. The author has used a rich variety of sources, including church archives, the letters and diaries of missionaries, as well as the Spanish and British press, both religious and secular. One merit of this [End Page 630] study is that it is placed within the wider context of the cultural and religious milieu of Victorian Britain. The proliferation of evangelical churches and movements in nineteenth-century England and the association of Christianity with imperial expansion stimulated a surge in missionary activity in the British Empire and beyond. Within this context, there emerged the Plymouth Brethren, evangelical dissenters from the Church of England, who attached particular importance to the Pauline example of missionary work among those whom they believed needed to be converted to a pure form of Christianity based on the Bible alone. They were attracted to Spain because the revolutionary constitution of 1869 introduced religious liberty for the first time in the nation’s history. Although the constitution of 1876 prohibited any public manifestations of religion other than the Catholic, it provided, at least, the slim and inadequate protection that no one could be persecuted for his personal beliefs. In these circumstances, the Brethren managed to survive to become the most active of the foreign missionary groups working in the country. In addition to literal interpretation of the Bible, the Brethren were committed to a decentralized organization evident in their rejection of any overarching ecclesiastical structure. They refused to use the word church, favoring assembly instead. They were also firmly anti-Roman. Indeed, they saw Catholicism’s dominance in Spain as a fundamental cause of the country’s spiritual, social, and economic decline. In addition, they attached importance to charitable and educational work among the poor. But they faced formidable obstacles, save for the years between 1869–73 and 1931–36, in the form of periodic harassment and constant attacks by Catholic clergy and press representatives who developed an obsession with the extent of the Protestant threat in spite of the minuscule size of the dissenting population. This study examines in depth many important themes—the identities of the missionaries, the evolution of their pastoral strategies, the areas where they were most successful (Madrid, Barcelona, and rural Galicia), and the social composition of their converts—largely the poor. In the end, the efforts of the Brethren proved disappointing, but the personal stories in this volume make abundantly clear that the missionaries were undaunted in their religious quest. The author also offers a convincing explanation of some of the reasons behind the meager results of the Brethren’s work, particularly the failure to develop native missionaries and a lack of appreciation for aspects of Spanish popular culture. There are few minor reservations. The narrative is, at times, overwhelmed by the numerous and long quotations in the text. It also would have been helpful to have had some analysis of the different opinions on religious liberty of the major political parties of liberal Spain, the Progressives and Moderates until 1868, and the Liberals and Conservatives after 1874. The Progressives and the Liberals took a much more tolerant line than their opponents on this question and did their best to ameliorate the harsher approach of their opponents. These minor reservations aside, this study makes a major contribution the religious history of modern Spain. [End Page 631] William J. Callahan University of Toronto (Emeritus) Copyright © 2016 The Catholic University of America Press