The Spanish Evangelical Alliance (AEE) has issued a statement about the recent Spanish Supreme Court ruling, that prohibits the use, even “occasionally”, of unofficial flags, which has generated a controversy around the 'gay pride' flag.

Many local and regional governments disobeyed the ruling by using of the rainbow flag in their buildings. Security forces and the national Post Office were among other institutional bodies which also promoted the LGBT pride on their social media accounts. 

The AEE has said in a statement that “the law is there to be fulfilled, especially by those who should work to keep it”, referring to the police and governmental institutions.

The Spanish evangelical body recognises the exceptions that may be necessary in some moments of history in the context of civil disobedience, but that “is not applicable in this case”, it says.

The AEE points out that the symbology in public spaces should not be used to back certain ideologies, entities or movements. That is a position that the Alliance has defended in previous statements, in the context of the use of religious symbolism.

Equality, totalitarianism and freedom

The AEE is concerned that the official use of the gay pride flag “is implying that the law can be disobeyed when the competent authority decides so”.

It also warned that these attitudes of government bodies “is spreading the idea that a certain ideology (that of gay pride in this case) represents the whole of the citizenry”.

That line of thought, reminds the AEE of the ideological imposition of the National-Catholicism, and its symbols during the Spanish dictatorship, the Francisco Franco era (1939-1975).

The AEE is also worried that the debate on whether or not to apply the law becomes a non-productive fight between the far-right (those who say they defend the law) and the progressivism of those who think the law is not applicable to certain cases.

“That is a demagogic way of ignoring that it is a key issue related to something as important as the neutrality of the State”.

The AEE expresses its concerns about the use of the gay flag as a symbol of plurality and tolerance. No ideology should be presented using such general values, because “that could also be attributed to Protestantism”, which helped to origin European democracies, the evangelical entity says.

“We want freedom and absence of impositions and demagogic speeches to disobey the law”

The AEE underlines the importance of freedom of conscience, which leads to a “the true plurality and tolerance, the freedom to be able to express if you agree or disagree with any idea (always with respect), without imposing a certain ideological line to the population as normative, while breaking law”.

“We want diversity, plurality and respect in Spain. But, above all, freedom and absence of impositions and discourses about disobeying the law”, the statement concludes.