Religious freedom rises up the Spanish political agenda

The Spanish government, led by Social Democrat prime minister Pedro Sánchez has elevated the issue of freedom of religion and of conscience.

The ministry of justice will now have a new directorate of religious affairs, to improve its relationships with the faith groups in the country.

The move comes with an effort to “guarantee the exercise of the right to freedom of religion and worship”, a statement issued by the government said.

The Directorate General for Religious Freedom will be headed by Mercedes Murillo Muñoz, an expert in the field, who until now headed the Sub-Directorate dedicated to the same purpose.

Among the aims of the body is the development of a new Law on Religious Freedom and Freedom of Conscience to reform the current one, which dates from 1980.

Another priority of the government is the progressing in the normalisation of the religious confessions with “notorious roots in Spain”, which include the evangelical churches, according to the government.

In the last legislature, the government agreed to equalise the tax regime for all religious denominations in Spain, a measure that did not come into force, as it fell due to the early elections of July 2023.

Now, with the creation of this Directorate General, a higher level of contact between the Executive and the different religious denominations is expected.