Cooperation Between the State and Religious Organizations: Equality and Non-Discrimination on Religious Grounds in Spain

The objective of this paper is to analyze the constitutional principles that govern the Spanish model of relations between the State and religious organizations, within the context of the model of cooperation between the State and religious organizations. The 1978 Constitution guarantees the right to religious freedom, establishes the principle of religious neutrality of public authorities, and indicates that public authorities shall cooperate with religious organizations and the Catholic Church. In line with this approach, this paper studies the advantages and disadvantages of the Spanish model of cooperation between the State and religious organizations, taking into account the fact that the State has currently signed cooperation agreements with both the Catholic Church and so-called religious minorities. This has generated a cooperation model that favors organizations with cooperation agreements over those without and discriminates between religious organizations with cooperation agreements based on the content of the respective agreements. All of this contradicts the constitutional principle of equality and non-discrimination on religious grounds, as well as the principle of religious neutrality of public authorities.