Spain “is one of the first nine countries in the world in which the greatest religious freedom exists”: there are “no privileges or excesses in relations between State and Catholic Church”, indeed, “religious freedom in Spain is a right upheld in article 16 of the Constitution”. The relation between Church and State in contemporary Spain was discussed at a symposium on “The religious question in Spanish political life”, held in Seville in recent days. Alberto de la Hera, director general of religious affairs at the Ministry of Justice, explained that “the State has well-defined relations with the Holy See through the Concordat” (1979). In Spain 85% of the population are Catholics, 10% agnostics and atheists and 5% non-Catholics (comprising inter alia 500,000 Moslems, 500,000 Protestants and 20,000 Jews). There are 1,300 registered religious communities.
