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What was the Catholic Church trying to do in Spain in the 1930s?
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Right now I'm trying to learn about Spain's transition to democracy in the 20th century. To start, I'm looking at the civil war that took place in the '30s. And the question I'm trying to answer is: what was everybody mad about?
Wikipedia (I know, I know) says:
"The central issue was the role of the Catholic Church, which the left saw as the major enemy of modernity and the Spanish people, and the right saw as the invaluable protector of Spanish values."
They cite Richard Herr's An Historical Essay on Modern Spain.
What I don't understand is what the Church was doing that was so controversial. What was it that people on left and right were afraid of?
The left side wanted to reduce the influence of the Church. Why?
The right side wanted to keep the church as it was, or buttress it. Why?
Thanks very much!
20th-century political-history spain catholic-church spanish-civil-war
asked 4 hours ago
MadEmperorYuri
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MadEmperorYuri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
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add a comment |Â
up vote
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down vote
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Right now I'm trying to learn about Spain's transition to democracy in the 20th century. To start, I'm looking at the civil war that took place in the '30s. And the question I'm trying to answer is: what was everybody mad about?
Wikipedia (I know, I know) says:
"The central issue was the role of the Catholic Church, which the left saw as the major enemy of modernity and the Spanish people, and the right saw as the invaluable protector of Spanish values."
They cite Richard Herr's An Historical Essay on Modern Spain.
What I don't understand is what the Church was doing that was so controversial. What was it that people on left and right were afraid of?
The left side wanted to reduce the influence of the Church. Why?
The right side wanted to keep the church as it was, or buttress it. Why?
Thanks very much!
20th-century political-history spain catholic-church spanish-civil-war
asked 4 hours ago
MadEmperorYuri
62
New contributor
MadEmperorYuri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
2
I can't write a full answer, but the Church supported the big landlords and the nobility, the monopoly in education, exploiting the properties it had, getting tithes... In short, keeping their status as a wealthy power in Spain.
– Alberto Yagos
2 hours ago
It's always important to keep in mind that no organization with more than one person in it has a single reason for anything. An no organization has a mind or motives -- only people have those. The real answer is never simple.
– Mark Olson
2 hours ago
A point that may be difficult to understand is how powerful the Catholic Church was at the time, specially at small towns. Getting excomunicated was a pretty harsh punishment to someone who only knew Catholics and who was always told that every non-Catholic would go to Hell. And even if you did not care, it would made you an outcast; as anyone who remained on good terms with you could be the priests'next target. The Church regularly used that power against anybody demanding social reform, so in the end most reformists saw the Church as an obstacle at best.
– SJuan76
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
Right now I'm trying to learn about Spain's transition to democracy in the 20th century. To start, I'm looking at the civil war that took place in the '30s. And the question I'm trying to answer is: what was everybody mad about?
Wikipedia (I know, I know) says:
"The central issue was the role of the Catholic Church, which the left saw as the major enemy of modernity and the Spanish people, and the right saw as the invaluable protector of Spanish values."
They cite Richard Herr's An Historical Essay on Modern Spain.
What I don't understand is what the Church was doing that was so controversial. What was it that people on left and right were afraid of?
The left side wanted to reduce the influence of the Church. Why?
The right side wanted to keep the church as it was, or buttress it. Why?
Thanks very much!
20th-century political-history spain catholic-church spanish-civil-war
asked 4 hours ago
MadEmperorYuri
62
New contributor
MadEmperorYuri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Right now I'm trying to learn about Spain's transition to democracy in the 20th century. To start, I'm looking at the civil war that took place in the '30s. And the question I'm trying to answer is: what was everybody mad about?
Wikipedia (I know, I know) says:
"The central issue was the role of the Catholic Church, which the left saw as the major enemy of modernity and the Spanish people, and the right saw as the invaluable protector of Spanish values."
They cite Richard Herr's An Historical Essay on Modern Spain.
What I don't understand is what the Church was doing that was so controversial. What was it that people on left and right were afraid of?
The left side wanted to reduce the influence of the Church. Why?
The right side wanted to keep the church as it was, or buttress it. Why?
Thanks very much!
20th-century political-history spain catholic-church spanish-civil-war
20th-century political-history spain catholic-church spanish-civil-war
asked 4 hours ago
MadEmperorYuri
62
New contributor
MadEmperorYuri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 hours ago
MadEmperorYuri
62
New contributor
MadEmperorYuri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 hours ago
MadEmperorYuri
62
New contributor
MadEmperorYuri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 4 hours ago
MadEmperorYuri
62
asked 4 hours ago
MadEmperorYuri
62
62
New contributor
MadEmperorYuri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
MadEmperorYuri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
MadEmperorYuri is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
2
I can't write a full answer, but the Church supported the big landlords and the nobility, the monopoly in education, exploiting the properties it had, getting tithes... In short, keeping their status as a wealthy power in Spain.
– Alberto Yagos
2 hours ago
It's always important to keep in mind that no organization with more than one person in it has a single reason for anything. An no organization has a mind or motives -- only people have those. The real answer is never simple.
– Mark Olson
2 hours ago
A point that may be difficult to understand is how powerful the Catholic Church was at the time, specially at small towns. Getting excomunicated was a pretty harsh punishment to someone who only knew Catholics and who was always told that every non-Catholic would go to Hell. And even if you did not care, it would made you an outcast; as anyone who remained on good terms with you could be the priests'next target. The Church regularly used that power against anybody demanding social reform, so in the end most reformists saw the Church as an obstacle at best.
– SJuan76
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
2
I can't write a full answer, but the Church supported the big landlords and the nobility, the monopoly in education, exploiting the properties it had, getting tithes... In short, keeping their status as a wealthy power in Spain.
– Alberto Yagos
2 hours ago
It's always important to keep in mind that no organization with more than one person in it has a single reason for anything. An no organization has a mind or motives -- only people have those. The real answer is never simple.
– Mark Olson
2 hours ago
A point that may be difficult to understand is how powerful the Catholic Church was at the time, specially at small towns. Getting excomunicated was a pretty harsh punishment to someone who only knew Catholics and who was always told that every non-Catholic would go to Hell. And even if you did not care, it would made you an outcast; as anyone who remained on good terms with you could be the priests'next target. The Church regularly used that power against anybody demanding social reform, so in the end most reformists saw the Church as an obstacle at best.
– SJuan76
1 hour ago
2
2
I can't write a full answer, but the Church supported the big landlords and the nobility, the monopoly in education, exploiting the properties it had, getting tithes... In short, keeping their status as a wealthy power in Spain.
– Alberto Yagos
2 hours ago
I can't write a full answer, but the Church supported the big landlords and the nobility, the monopoly in education, exploiting the properties it had, getting tithes... In short, keeping their status as a wealthy power in Spain.
– Alberto Yagos
2 hours ago
It's always important to keep in mind that no organization with more than one person in it has a single reason for anything. An no organization has a mind or motives -- only people have those. The real answer is never simple.
– Mark Olson
2 hours ago
It's always important to keep in mind that no organization with more than one person in it has a single reason for anything. An no organization has a mind or motives -- only people have those. The real answer is never simple.
– Mark Olson
2 hours ago
A point that may be difficult to understand is how powerful the Catholic Church was at the time, specially at small towns. Getting excomunicated was a pretty harsh punishment to someone who only knew Catholics and who was always told that every non-Catholic would go to Hell. And even if you did not care, it would made you an outcast; as anyone who remained on good terms with you could be the priests'next target. The Church regularly used that power against anybody demanding social reform, so in the end most reformists saw the Church as an obstacle at best.
– SJuan76
1 hour ago
A point that may be difficult to understand is how powerful the Catholic Church was at the time, specially at small towns. Getting excomunicated was a pretty harsh punishment to someone who only knew Catholics and who was always told that every non-Catholic would go to Hell. And even if you did not care, it would made you an outcast; as anyone who remained on good terms with you could be the priests'next target. The Church regularly used that power against anybody demanding social reform, so in the end most reformists saw the Church as an obstacle at best.
– SJuan76
1 hour ago
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
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I don't have much specific knowledge about this topic, but I can help you try to dig a little deeper into other relevant articles on Wikipedia :)
The two sides of the Spanish Civil War were the Republicans versus the Nationalists. The Republican side constitutes the "left" referred to in the question. The Nationalists sought to restore the "traditional" political order in Spain, which very much included (along with the monarchy and the aristocracy) the power of Catholic Church.
A key even that precipitated the Spanish Civil War was the fall of the monarchy and the formation of the Second Spanish Republic under a new 1931 Constitution. To say that Republicans aimed to "reduce the influence of the Church" in this period is probably an understatement of the hostility. This following is from the article on the history of the Church in Spain:
The Republican government which came to power in Spain in 1931 was
strongly anti-clerical, secularising education, prohibiting religious
education in the schools, and expelling the Jesuits from the country.
In May, 1931, a wave of attacks hit Church properties in Madrid,
Andalucia, and the Levant, as dozens of religious buildings, including
churches, friaries, convents, and schools, lay in ruins. The
government expropriated all Church properties, such as episcopal
residences, parish houses, seminaries and monasteries. The Church had
to pay rent and taxes in order to continuously use these properties.
Religious vestments, chalices, statues, paintings, and similar objects
necessary for worship were expropriated as well.
In 1937, two previously distinct factions unified under the Nationalist banner. One of these factions, the Carlist, traced back to the 1830s was always zealously pro-Catholic. Conflicts between liberals and Catholics over land and educational reform were already evident in Spain during that period. The other Nationalist faction in the 1930s was Falangist, which was also pro-Catholic despite some more secularist elements. So while the Nationalist movement and the Catholic Church were far from identical, they were very closely connected.
Finally I will point you toward the article on Catholicism in the Second Republic. There is a lot of detail there about the role of the Church in education, the ties between the Church and rural elites, and so on.
answered 3 hours ago
Brian Z
3,461613
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
I don't have much specific knowledge about this topic, but I can help you try to dig a little deeper into other relevant articles on Wikipedia :)
The two sides of the Spanish Civil War were the Republicans versus the Nationalists. The Republican side constitutes the "left" referred to in the question. The Nationalists sought to restore the "traditional" political order in Spain, which very much included (along with the monarchy and the aristocracy) the power of Catholic Church.
A key even that precipitated the Spanish Civil War was the fall of the monarchy and the formation of the Second Spanish Republic under a new 1931 Constitution. To say that Republicans aimed to "reduce the influence of the Church" in this period is probably an understatement of the hostility. This following is from the article on the history of the Church in Spain:
The Republican government which came to power in Spain in 1931 was
strongly anti-clerical, secularising education, prohibiting religious
education in the schools, and expelling the Jesuits from the country.
In May, 1931, a wave of attacks hit Church properties in Madrid,
Andalucia, and the Levant, as dozens of religious buildings, including
churches, friaries, convents, and schools, lay in ruins. The
government expropriated all Church properties, such as episcopal
residences, parish houses, seminaries and monasteries. The Church had
to pay rent and taxes in order to continuously use these properties.
Religious vestments, chalices, statues, paintings, and similar objects
necessary for worship were expropriated as well.
In 1937, two previously distinct factions unified under the Nationalist banner. One of these factions, the Carlist, traced back to the 1830s was always zealously pro-Catholic. Conflicts between liberals and Catholics over land and educational reform were already evident in Spain during that period. The other Nationalist faction in the 1930s was Falangist, which was also pro-Catholic despite some more secularist elements. So while the Nationalist movement and the Catholic Church were far from identical, they were very closely connected.
Finally I will point you toward the article on Catholicism in the Second Republic. There is a lot of detail there about the role of the Church in education, the ties between the Church and rural elites, and so on.
answered 3 hours ago
Brian Z
3,461613
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
I don't have much specific knowledge about this topic, but I can help you try to dig a little deeper into other relevant articles on Wikipedia :)
The two sides of the Spanish Civil War were the Republicans versus the Nationalists. The Republican side constitutes the "left" referred to in the question. The Nationalists sought to restore the "traditional" political order in Spain, which very much included (along with the monarchy and the aristocracy) the power of Catholic Church.
A key even that precipitated the Spanish Civil War was the fall of the monarchy and the formation of the Second Spanish Republic under a new 1931 Constitution. To say that Republicans aimed to "reduce the influence of the Church" in this period is probably an understatement of the hostility. This following is from the article on the history of the Church in Spain:
The Republican government which came to power in Spain in 1931 was
strongly anti-clerical, secularising education, prohibiting religious
education in the schools, and expelling the Jesuits from the country.
In May, 1931, a wave of attacks hit Church properties in Madrid,
Andalucia, and the Levant, as dozens of religious buildings, including
churches, friaries, convents, and schools, lay in ruins. The
government expropriated all Church properties, such as episcopal
residences, parish houses, seminaries and monasteries. The Church had
to pay rent and taxes in order to continuously use these properties.
Religious vestments, chalices, statues, paintings, and similar objects
necessary for worship were expropriated as well.
In 1937, two previously distinct factions unified under the Nationalist banner. One of these factions, the Carlist, traced back to the 1830s was always zealously pro-Catholic. Conflicts between liberals and Catholics over land and educational reform were already evident in Spain during that period. The other Nationalist faction in the 1930s was Falangist, which was also pro-Catholic despite some more secularist elements. So while the Nationalist movement and the Catholic Church were far from identical, they were very closely connected.
Finally I will point you toward the article on Catholicism in the Second Republic. There is a lot of detail there about the role of the Church in education, the ties between the Church and rural elites, and so on.
answered 3 hours ago
Brian Z
3,461613
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
I don't have much specific knowledge about this topic, but I can help you try to dig a little deeper into other relevant articles on Wikipedia :)
The two sides of the Spanish Civil War were the Republicans versus the Nationalists. The Republican side constitutes the "left" referred to in the question. The Nationalists sought to restore the "traditional" political order in Spain, which very much included (along with the monarchy and the aristocracy) the power of Catholic Church.
A key even that precipitated the Spanish Civil War was the fall of the monarchy and the formation of the Second Spanish Republic under a new 1931 Constitution. To say that Republicans aimed to "reduce the influence of the Church" in this period is probably an understatement of the hostility. This following is from the article on the history of the Church in Spain:
The Republican government which came to power in Spain in 1931 was
strongly anti-clerical, secularising education, prohibiting religious
education in the schools, and expelling the Jesuits from the country.
In May, 1931, a wave of attacks hit Church properties in Madrid,
Andalucia, and the Levant, as dozens of religious buildings, including
churches, friaries, convents, and schools, lay in ruins. The
government expropriated all Church properties, such as episcopal
residences, parish houses, seminaries and monasteries. The Church had
to pay rent and taxes in order to continuously use these properties.
Religious vestments, chalices, statues, paintings, and similar objects
necessary for worship were expropriated as well.
In 1937, two previously distinct factions unified under the Nationalist banner. One of these factions, the Carlist, traced back to the 1830s was always zealously pro-Catholic. Conflicts between liberals and Catholics over land and educational reform were already evident in Spain during that period. The other Nationalist faction in the 1930s was Falangist, which was also pro-Catholic despite some more secularist elements. So while the Nationalist movement and the Catholic Church were far from identical, they were very closely connected.
Finally I will point you toward the article on Catholicism in the Second Republic. There is a lot of detail there about the role of the Church in education, the ties between the Church and rural elites, and so on.
answered 3 hours ago
Brian Z
3,461613
I don't have much specific knowledge about this topic, but I can help you try to dig a little deeper into other relevant articles on Wikipedia :)
The two sides of the Spanish Civil War were the Republicans versus the Nationalists. The Republican side constitutes the "left" referred to in the question. The Nationalists sought to restore the "traditional" political order in Spain, which very much included (along with the monarchy and the aristocracy) the power of Catholic Church.
A key even that precipitated the Spanish Civil War was the fall of the monarchy and the formation of the Second Spanish Republic under a new 1931 Constitution. To say that Republicans aimed to "reduce the influence of the Church" in this period is probably an understatement of the hostility. This following is from the article on the history of the Church in Spain:
The Republican government which came to power in Spain in 1931 was
strongly anti-clerical, secularising education, prohibiting religious
education in the schools, and expelling the Jesuits from the country.
In May, 1931, a wave of attacks hit Church properties in Madrid,
Andalucia, and the Levant, as dozens of religious buildings, including
churches, friaries, convents, and schools, lay in ruins. The
government expropriated all Church properties, such as episcopal
residences, parish houses, seminaries and monasteries. The Church had
to pay rent and taxes in order to continuously use these properties.
Religious vestments, chalices, statues, paintings, and similar objects
necessary for worship were expropriated as well.
In 1937, two previously distinct factions unified under the Nationalist banner. One of these factions, the Carlist, traced back to the 1830s was always zealously pro-Catholic. Conflicts between liberals and Catholics over land and educational reform were already evident in Spain during that period. The other Nationalist faction in the 1930s was Falangist, which was also pro-Catholic despite some more secularist elements. So while the Nationalist movement and the Catholic Church were far from identical, they were very closely connected.
Finally I will point you toward the article on Catholicism in the Second Republic. There is a lot of detail there about the role of the Church in education, the ties between the Church and rural elites, and so on.
answered 3 hours ago
Brian Z
3,461613
answered 3 hours ago
Brian Z
3,461613
answered 3 hours ago
Brian Z
3,461613
answered 3 hours ago
Brian Z
3,461613
3,461613
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
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2
I can't write a full answer, but the Church supported the big landlords and the nobility, the monopoly in education, exploiting the properties it had, getting tithes... In short, keeping their status as a wealthy power in Spain.
– Alberto Yagos
2 hours ago
It's always important to keep in mind that no organization with more than one person in it has a single reason for anything. An no organization has a mind or motives -- only people have those. The real answer is never simple.
– Mark Olson
2 hours ago
A point that may be difficult to understand is how powerful the Catholic Church was at the time, specially at small towns. Getting excomunicated was a pretty harsh punishment to someone who only knew Catholics and who was always told that every non-Catholic would go to Hell. And even if you did not care, it would made you an outcast; as anyone who remained on good terms with you could be the priests'next target. The Church regularly used that power against anybody demanding social reform, so in the end most reformists saw the Church as an obstacle at best.
– SJuan76
1 hour ago