1.  Church and State in Spanish Constitutions. Spanish speaking countries are living in an age of profound transformations. Both spiritually and socially. In fact, it has been said that the recent spiritual revival that is taking place in the continent, due to the Protestant expansion, but also within Catholic circles, may well be one of the last hopes for the economic and social advancement of some countries.

2.  Recent Developments Concerning Church and State. One of the Latin American countries that most recently has separated the church from the State is Paraguay. In a surprising but understandable move, the Paraguayan Catholic Bishops Conference joined a group of 14 protestant churches in asking for the separation of church and state in the country. The new Paraguayan constitution guarantees religious freedom and the separation of church and state. It also eliminates the requirement to profess the Catholic religion for the President of the republic. It is important to mention that in our country, in spite of having an ex priest president,all the decision taken in the senate were not influeced by religion, In fact, Mr. Fernando Lugo had to quit being a priest to assume the presidence and govern the country.

3. In June of 1991, with the participation of two evangelicals, and with the support of indigenous peoples and others, Colombia’s Constitutional Convention took away the official status of the Catholic church and declared that “all religious confessions and churches are equally free before the law”. The Colombian Congress is now discussing a religious liberty law which, according to its framers would further guarantee and detail the equality of all churches and their rights to freedom of worship. On its part, the Lower Chamber of the Mexican Congress has just approved a “Law on Religious Associations and Public Worship” that attempts, at least partially, to restore religious liberties in that country. In its 6th article the law establishes that “religious associations are equal before the law in rights and obligations.” This means that there are not special privileges for the Catholic Church.

4. Argentina, where the Catholic church is still the “official” one, and where the President must be Catholic, has now started a process of debate concerning this topic. President Carlos Menem has manifested his desire to eliminate the “religious test” for the President, and believes the Catholic hierarchy will not oppose this measure. There is also strong support for the separation of church and state. Concerning Bolivia, the struggle for the separation of church and state continues, this time with the support from not only evangelical circles but even from some sectors of the Catholic church. Some political parties have also expressed their desire to see a constitutional amendment to provide for church and state separation.

5.  Spain: Current church –State regulation. A period of political transition from 1975 to 1978 culminated in the 1978 Constitution, which deeply reformed the Spanish legal system and recognized the fundamental right of religious freedom in a country free of an established Church. Church-state law in modern Spain proceeds from two basic Sources: The state (constitutional norms and ordinary legislation) and covenants Or agreements between the state and churches or religious communities.

6.  SPANISH CHURCH AND STATE. Rights of individuals. 1) Free practice of any or no religious belief, right to change religious beliefs and right to express religious beliefs openly; 2) Free religious worship; celebration of religious festivities, marriage rites and funeral rites and religious assistance; (Religious assistance is a common practice in any cooperative church-state system. It consists of the state allowing and facilitating churches' performance of religious functions for their believers in state institutions. In Spain, religious assistance is allowed in schools, the armed forces, prisons, hospitals and beneficence (welfare) facilities);'‘ 3) Right to instruct or be instructed in religious teachings, free religious information and right to choose religious education according to personal convictions. 4) Right to meet and to join and develop religious activities.

7.  In conclusion. Contemporary Spain in its 1978 Constitution recognized religious freedom as a fundamental right and chose cooperation with churches, religious communities and religious groups, rather than separation. All these situations in some Spanish speaking countries have something in common with the United State; their constitution strongly mention that the country recognized that the relationship between church and state had been remarkably solved by separating these two institutions. For instance, in the United States, in contrast with some countries that do not separate church from state, they are not allowed reading the bible or praying in public schools, they do not prefer one religion over another and prohibit the establishment of a national religion by Congress.

8.  THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION!!!