EL MIEDO A LA LIBERTAD RELIGIOSA. AUTORIDADES FRANQUISTAS, CATOLICOS Y PROTESTANTES ANTE LA LEY DE 28 DE JUNIO DE 1967

Abstract

The doctrine of the Second Vatican Council and the foreign diplomatic pressure forced the Franco regime to pass the law of religious freedom from 1967. This article analizes the debate that arose then just in the heart of Spanish Catholicism concerning different concepts such as tolerance or religious freedom. The controversy, in which also public authorities participated, frequently adopted a political tone when subjects as the State’s religion and the religious unity of the State were dealt. The limitations of the law and its refusal by non-catholic faiths are also included in this paper. The law made it possible that Franco’s dictatorship conveyed an image of modernity and respect, that was quite far away from reality, and contributed to its survival. The fear of religious pluralism reveals the idleness of the clergy and this increased the crisis of the Spanish Church, that became obvious in the social secularization process.