Justin Hawkins on Reactionary Protestantism in the Face of Monopolistic Catholicism

By: Justin Hawkins

February 22, 2010

In a country as religiously homogenous as Spain where 94 percent of the population self-report as Catholic, religious minorities are not be able to survive without adapting certain characteristics of exclusion and cohesion that would not be necessary in a country with more equally-distributed religious diversity. The smaller numbers of believers and widespread opposition from other religions presents a situation which entrenches community loyalty and cements cohesion in that community. Consequently, it is possible to speak generally of the minority religion in terms of a monolithic unit because diversity of opinion and factionalism rarely exist within a community that is faced with such staunch opposition from without.

Such is the case of Protestantism in Spain, specifically in Salamanca where I am studying this academic year. In this country, a bastion of Catholicism that carries a strong history of counter-reformation, Protestants represent a small and unique religious minority. Salamanca is home to one of the oldest universities in Europe (founded by papal bull in 1218), a Catholic pontifical seminary, and a twelfth-century cathedral. Under the shadow of these looming monuments of the Roman Church, no more than two Protestant churches have been able to exist in the city. The parishioners there number no more than a few hundred, while the Catholics in the city number in the tens of thousands.

But the differences between the style and behavior of the two Christian sects are very pronounced. As has been noted before with great accuracy by former JYAN correspondents studying in Spain, Catholicism here is much more of a cultural and national identity than a passionately-held religious dogma. (As a caveat, it is not entirely possible to characterize the entire country in this way. For example, the Catholic seminary here serves several hundred young men studying for the priesthood of many different orders, and their biblical and theological knowledge is typically quite strong.) However, it is generally accurate to say that most Catholics here rarely attend Mass and spend remarkably little time studying theological matters. Even the linguistic usage of the seminary students reveals the lack of significance of the title “Catholic” in Spain; in classes in the pontifical university, I have often been asked whether I am “religious” or “secular.” Being a Protestant, my typical response has been that I was religious. I was repeatedly met with puzzled glances until I was informed that when they asked if I was “religious,” they were actually asking me if I was training for the priesthood. It is striking to me that the students there only consider someone “religious” if he is planning on entering vocational ministry. That is to say that “secular” is the default title of the population at large, even though they would claim Catholicism.

In contrast, the small number of Protestants that I have encountered at the evangelical church here are quite zealous, practice their religion regularly by attending church services and participating in Bible studies, and have a general Biblical knowledge higher than that of the average Catholic. Since Protestantism is an identity that is decidedly counter-cultural in Spain, the repercussions of identifying oneself as such are substantial. The result of this is that the theology and behavior of the Protestants have a definite reactionary flavor. A high premium is placed on interreligious dialogue and discussion in the United States, but Spanish Protestants are far more content to reject Catholicism and the religious history of Spain, preferring rather to maintain their cohesive minority by registering their strong abstention from all things Catholic.

It is difficult to say whether Protestantism will grow in the near future here in Spain. While there does seem to be strong dissidence against the formal Church among the Spanish youth, especially after the religiously-tinged “dictatorship by the grace of God” led by General Franco until his death in 1973, that religious frustration leads more students toward atheism and secularism than toward the Protestant alternative. A rising sentiment of religious atheism among students in Spain comes concurrently with communistic and anarchic political views, which are much more popular here than in the United States. Additionally, Spain has not been immune to the growing influence of Islam throughout Europe, and it is likely that the percentage of Muslims in this country will grow more steadily than the percentage of Protestants.

Finally, the Catholic Church as a whole, though not as strong as the numbers suggest since the majority of Catholics are only nominally so, is not in any danger of collapsing in the foreseeable future. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that the deck is stacked very strongly against the small Protestant community here, and their behavior provides a fascination case study of a religious minority that can only be described as David against a whole family of Goliaths.

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