Religion and Politics in Spain

An examination of the Spanish Church in transition over a 34-year period, as it responded to far-reaching societal change. Having disengaged from Francoism, it embraced democracy but found itself somewhat at odds with various aspects of the modernization of Spain, the ongoing process of secularization and the "supermarket" approach to doctrine of its own membership. In its goal of maintaining influence, its long-established strategy of alliances with secular-political and socio-economic power groups became pointless in a society not so much hostile as indifferent to institutionalized religion. The challenges facing the Spanish Church are placed in the context of Vatican and grassroots Church developments as well as within the sweep of Spanish history.