De la “armonía de clases” a una “fe competente y responsable”. Los significados de la paz en el catolicismo de base en España (1960-1985)

This article examines the evolution of the meanings of peace within grassroots Catholicism during the late Franco regime and Spain’s democratic transition. Influenced by the Second Vatican Council, the notion of peace shifted from expressing a moral critique of Francoist authoritarianism to becoming, in the 1960s, a concept linked to economic justice and to a structural interpretation of violence shaped by dialogue with Marxism. During the 1970s, the idea of peace moved toward themes of dialogue, reconciliation, and the Church’s adaptation to modernity, legitimizing the participation of Christians in social and political mobilizations against the dictatorship. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the discourse underwent two major shifts: the replacement of evangelical foundations with a defense of peace grounded in universal human rights, and the displacement of social justice concerns toward a focus on international security, driven by fears of a limited nuclear war in Europe. Despite these tensions, the study shows that peace retained a notable plurality of meanings and that Christian-inspired institutions played a significant role in the development of peace research and education in Spain.