The left and the Catholic question in Spain

Abstract

Conflict between the Left and Catholicism has played a major role in twentieth-century Spanish politics. The Church in Spain, as elsewhere 'in its historic heartlands', has served as the bulwark of order, representing one of the most important obstacles to the legitimation of the parties of the Left and to their accession to power. Controversy over its place in society contributed decisively to the outbreak of the Civil War. After the Franco victory in 1939, the Church and Catholicism served as the principal ideological pillars of the regime. Despite the important socio-structural changes of the last four decades, the Catholic Church's presence and influence continue to generate tension in Spain. Thus, even today, as Juan Linz has noted, 'religion continues to be the decisive variable in accounting for the moderate and conservative electoral choices of the voters. In fact, it is a more important factor than social class.' The Left has been forced to devise a strategy for dealing with the Catholic phenomenon in Spain. A first line of attack, in line with the anti-clerical tradition of its Latin European counterparts, was a call for a frontal assault on the Church. The Anarchists, Communists and Socialists pursued this strategy in the years preceding the Civil War and for the first two decades of the Franco regime. Eventually, under the impetus of changes taking place in Spanish society and among Catholics, as well as of lessons learned from having allowed the Right to exploit religion in its favour, a less conflictual alternative emerged. Socialists and Communists—the Anarchists having lost their prominence in the Left by the 1950s—inclined their parties toward more flexible postures. As we shall see, the degree of interest and innovation in policy was not the same among the two parties, but both sought to break the marriage between Catholicism and social/political conservatism. This essay will analyse the evolving policies and attitudes of the Socialists (PSOE: Partido Socialista Obrero Espanol) and Communists (PCE: Partido Comunista de Espana) with respect to Spanish Catholicism. The first section explores the role of the Church and subculture in Franco Spain and discusses the reasons for and extent of their evolution. The second section focuses on the PSOE and PCE analysis of and response to that phenomenon, and the final section assesses the efficacy of those policies and the place of the Catholic Church and subculture in Spain today.