Teaching catholicism in public schools in Spain: the declaration of suitability at the intersection of religious autonomy and state neutrality
Under the terms of the Concordat between the Holy See and Spain, Catholic RE teachers must obtain a declaration of suitability prior to their appointment by the competent administrative authority. The bishop’s authority to revoke any such statement, and the State’s jurisdictional prerogative in over...
| Published in: | British Journal of religious education |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[publisher not identified]
2022
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| In: |
British Journal of religious education
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| Further subjects: | B
religion teachers in spain
B Church Autonomy B european court of human rights B Declaration of suitability |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Under the terms of the Concordat between the Holy See and Spain, Catholic RE teachers must obtain a declaration of suitability prior to their appointment by the competent administrative authority. The bishop’s authority to revoke any such statement, and the State’s jurisdictional prerogative in overseeing such decisions, are matters of some dispute in Spanish courts. The Constitutional Court has found that the fundamental rights of applicants are not diminished by the fact that they are acting as religion teachers. In certain cases, however, the Court has highlighted that the right to transmit its beliefs through teaching is a key element of collective religious freedom that should prevail. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in cases Fernandez Martinez v. Spain (2014) and Travaš v. Croacia (2016) found that, by signing the employment contract, the applicants knowingly and voluntarily accepted a ‘heightened duty’ of loyalty towards the Church, limiting the scope of their fundamental rights. Following the judgements of the ECtHR, this paper shows how the Spanish system has dealt with collective religious freedom and employees’ rights, providing a theoretical analysis of the legal grounds for the courts’ judgements. |
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| ISSN: | 1740-7931 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: British Journal of religious education
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/01416200.2021.1956432 |