Alberto Herrera Rodríguez, the Spanish Under-Secretary of state for the presidency, relations with Parliament and democratic memory, announced on Friday that the Spanish government is finalising a royal decree to address the situation of retired evangelical pastors who were unable to make adequate pension contributions during and after the Franco regime.

The announcement was made in the Congress of Deputies during a ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Commission for Evangelical Defence, the historical predecessor of the current Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities of Spain (FEREDE).

“We have a historical debt to evangelical pastors who were unable to have their right to make contributions, and their rights under the Social Security system, properly recognised”, stated Herrera.

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The Under-Secretary explained that they will take “the final step before it can be approved” in the coming days, by sending it to the Council of State to receive the relevant advisory report.

“I hope that this matter, which I know is a concern for you and us alike, and which I believe will bring about justice, can be resolved very soon”, he added.

A historic claim

This issue particularly affects evangelical pastors who carried out their ministry before the cooperation agreements were signed between the Spanish state and FEREDE in 1992. At that time, there was no clear framework for including them in the Social Security contribution system.

As a clip from the documentary screened at the event highlighted, some of these pastors are facing retirement without a pension for themselves or their families because they were unable to make contributions due to a lack of legal coverage for their profession.

This situation has been brought before regional, national and even international bodies. In October 2025, the Spanish Evangelical Alliance submitted a report to the World Evangelical Alliance, which then called on Spain to address the plight of retired pastors without pensions at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

70th anniversary of the Evangelical Defence Commission

The 70th anniversary of the Evangelical Defence Commission brought together institutional representatives, officials responsible for religious affairs, evangelical leaders, and representatives of other religious denominations in one of Parliament's chambers.

At the opening of the event, the president of FEREDE, Esteban Muñoz de Morales, recalled the origins of the Evangelical Defence Commission in 1956, at the height of Franco’s dictatorship, set up to defend the rights and religious freedom of Spanish protestants.

The Commission was established in Madrid on Monday 14 May 1956. Its constitution was signed by representatives of Spain’s four major evangelical organisations: the Spanish Evangelical Church (IEE), the Spanish Evangelical Alliance (AEE), the Spanish Evangelical Baptist Union (UEBE) and the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church (IERE).

During the ceremony, an excerpt from a documentary about the history of the Evangelical Defence Commission and its contribution to the defence of religious freedom and democratic coexistence in Spain was screened.

Overcoming stereotypes

Muñoz de Morales stressed that contemporary Spanish Protestantism “is diverse and pluralistic, and the heir to a complex history shaped by the perseverance of generations who upheld their faith in extremely difficult circumstances”.

He also pointed out that “stereotypes and misunderstandings regarding the evangelical reality” still persist and called for the recovery of Protestant historical memory in Spain.

FEREDE’s executive secretary, Carolina Bueno, reviewed the historical development of religious freedom in Spain and the role of the Commission for the Defence of Evangelicalism, and its successor, FEREDE.

Bueno recalled the restrictions and persecution suffered by Protestant communities during the Franco regime, as well as the importance of milestones such as the 1967 Law on Religious Freedom, the 1978 Constitution, and the 1992 cooperation agreements.

“Religious freedom cannot only be understood as tolerance, but also as effective recognition, respect, and equality in social and institutional participation”, she concluded.