Religious Groups in Spain: Legal Distinctions & Status

Legal Distinctions for Religious Groups in Spain

Spanish law makes two key distinctions regarding religious groups:

1. Public Response & Religious Freedom

   Groups have the right to religious freedom, extending to individuals and religious groups. However, this right is not absolute. If public order is disrupted, actions are unlawful, and the right to religious freedom will not apply. (Article 16.1 EC)

2. Legal Personality & Registration

   (Art 5 LORL) Groups are registered with the Registry of Religious Entities. Not all registered faiths have the same legal status:

   • Confessions with roots in Spain: These have access to cooperative agreements with the State (e.g., the Catholic Church, ERDF, CIE, FCI). The Catholic Church has a unique system of agreements predating the LORL, due to the Holy See's international legal personality.
   • Confessions registered without roots in Spain.
   • Groups without legal personality: These are not enrolled in the RER. Some seek recognition as an association to gain legal personality.

Article 1. AAJ

Key points regarding the Catholic Church:

1. The Spanish State recognizes the Catholic Church's right to exercise its apostolic mission and guarantees the free and public exercise of its religious activities, jurisdiction, and magisterium.
2. The Church can organize freely, including creating, modifying, or withdrawing dioceses, parishes, and other territorial constituencies, which shall have legal personality.
3. The Church can also establish, approve, and dissolve orders, religious congregations, other Institutes of Consecrated Life, and other ecclesiastical institutions and entities.
4. No part of Spanish territory will depend on a Bishop whose headquarters are in a territory under the sovereignty of another state. No diocese or territorial district will include areas of Spanish territory under foreign sovereignty.
5. The Principality of Andorra will continue to belong to the diocese of Urgell.
6. The State recognizes the juridical personality of the civil Spanish Episcopal Conference, according to the Statutes approved by the Holy See.

Schema of Legal Personality

Legal personality is recognized for:

• The Spanish Episcopal Conference (1.3 J)
• Dioceses, parishes, and other territorial constituencies (art 1.2 AJ)
• Institutes of Consecrated Life
• Entities that already enjoyed legal personality
• Newly created entities
• Associations and other institutions and religious foundations
• Entities that already enjoyed legal personality
• Start-ups