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...
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2022 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya) |
| Repositorio: | Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:recercat.cat:20.500.12328/4899 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12328/4899 https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2021.1956432 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Declaració d'Idoneïtat Professors de religió a Espanya Autonomia de l'església Tribunal Europeu de Drets Humans Declaración de idoneidad Profesores de religión en España Autonomía de la Iglesia Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos Declaration of suitability Religion teachers in spain Church autonomy European Court of Human Rights 37 |
| Sumario: | 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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