The official religion of Spain is Roman Catholicism. To say  Spaniard  is to say  Catholic.  Why, then, should we have to talk about the practice of this religion specifically in Spain, when there are other countries where it stands as the majority faith? In reality, not all national communities live the same religious belief in the same manner. It may be identical in its dogma and structure, but its emphasis and external form will be determined by the particular national traits of the people

Cambria, Rosario

English

University of Dayton

University of Dayton Review Volume 13 Number 3 Article 2 March 1979 The Spanish Expression of Catholicism Rosario Cambria Ohio State University Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/udr Recommended Citation Cambria, Rosario (1979) "The Spanish Expression of Catholicism," University of Dayton Review: Vol. 13: No. 3, Article 2. Available at: https://ecommons.udayton.edu/udr/vol13/iss3/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Dayton Review by an authorized editor of eCommons. For more information, please contact mschlangen1@udayton.edu, ecommons@udayton.edu. The Spanish Expression of Catholicism Rosario Cambria The official religion of Spain is Roman Catholicism. To say "Spaniard" is to say "Catholic." Why, then, should we have to talk about the practice of this re-ligion specifically in Spain, when there are other countries where it stands as the majority faith? In reality, not all national communities live the same reli-gious belief in the same manner. It may be identical in its dogma and structure, but its emphasis and external form will be determined by the particular national traits of the people. Externally, the impression one receives almost immediately about Catholi-cism in Spain is its exhuberance or overabundance. Socially, for example, it manifests itself in the language of everyday life: "See you tomorrow, if God wills it," is a common expression. Another example is that many times it is expressed in public ceremonies of great spectacularity, in the processions of Holy Week, to cite an outstanding example. The Spaniard, in general, tends to project his re-ligious sentiments externally. The single most important fact regarding Spanish Catholicism is that its dominance was affirmed at the same time and through the same struggle which forged Spain itself as a nation: the Reconquest. During the almost eight hun-dred years (711-1492) that Spaniards were struggling to recover their lands from the Moors and to combine the various regional kingdoms into a single, united country, they were simultaneously fighting to restore the supremacy of their religion. The Reconquest was in great measure a religious war. Thus, both the Spanish nation and Spanish Christianity were formed in war, and this beli-cose character of Catholicism in Spain has persisted throughout its history. For Spain, then, State and Catholicism are virtually one and the same; nation-ality and this religious faith are equal. 1 When Philip II assumed the throne in 1556, he led the country into a complete identification with the Catholic religion. Spain, at that time a world power, acted as the champion and armed force of the Counter-Reformation. The country became, as Spaniards are fond of saying, "more Papist than the Pope himself." Freedom of thought disappeared completely, the king forbade students to study outside of Spain and the Inquisition reached its peak. This institution-not uniquely nor originally Spanish, by the way-was formed over a period of years during the fifteenth century and lasted for some 350 years. In attempting to seek out and punish heresy, the Church established a system of tribunals and the State carried out the sentences, which varied from a simple warning to being burned at the stake. Since religion and the State were so closely identified, any belief which did not agree with the official Catholic dogma was 3 1Cambria: The Spanish Expression of CatholicismPublished by eCommons, 1979considered heresy and. by extension. an attempt against the integrity of the State itself. Spain became isolated and intellectually paralyzed during this period. with an atmosphere of intolerance and suspicion predominating. An excellent example of this type of belicose religiosity is the phenomenon of Santiago (St. James). the Patron Saint of Spain. One of the original twelve Apostles. he was martyred by the Romans in 43 A.D. It was at the beginning of the ninth century when what are believed to be his remains were found at the spot where the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela now stands. During this time the people were in the midst of the struggle of the Reconquest. Santiago quickly became a rallying point. both religious and military. The Spanish leaders began to invoke his protection in their fight against the Moslem in-truders. A great cult soon formed around Santiago. with a grandiose c~urch being erected in his honor in 872. Almost immediately people began to make pilgrimages to the shrine of the defender of Christianity. Iconographically. Santiago is most often shown as a warrior on a horse. brandishing a sword with which he slays Moors ("Santiago matamoros"). Another important example of Spanish Catholic manifestations is the ex-ternal expression of religious emotion during the processions of Holy Week. Their character is markedly different in two regions-Castile and Andalusia. In the Castilian cities of Zamora or Valladolid the religious floats are present. as in Andalusia. Here. however. there is a predominant solemnity which is absent in the South. In Castile one notices primarily the silent devotion and inner con-centration of the public as the magnificently carved statues pass by. The em-phasis is more on the realistic beauty of the carvings. which inspire reverence. rather than on elaborate adornments as in Andalusia. The processions of the South. and especially Seville. have an impressive spectacularity to them. The Andalusian spirit of exultation and sumptuous decoration is much in evidence. This coincides with the general character of these people. which is more extroverted and given to grandiose gestures. Prob-ably due-at least in part-to the many years of Moorish occupation of Anda-lusia. the processions here and the atmosphere surrounding them have an al-most pagan quality. The public is very noisy and joyful. talking loudly. eating and drinking. When an especially popular float comes into view. the crowd will begin to applaud enthusiastically. Sevillanos, not out of disrespect but pre-cisely out of admiration for their favorite statue of the Virgin Mary. will yell out compliments to her. just as they might to a beautiful woman walking along the street. The floats are much more elaborate in Andalusia. with the main In-terest centering on those carrying statues of the Virgin. These will have an ornate Baroque sumptuousness. with many flowers and rows of lit candles. The Virgin will wear an impressive jeweled crown and a long. trailing cape en-crusted with elaborate gold embroidery. In Andalusia alone. the improvised saeta or "arrow of song" is also part of this religious spectacle. This is an unaccompanied song. by a solo- voice. in praise of a particular image of the Virgin or of Christ. It reveals a strong Ara-bic influence and is a deep. heartfelt emotional expression. 4 2University of Dayton Review, Vol. 13, No. 3 [1979], Art. 2https://ecommons.udayton.edu/udr/vol13/iss3/2All of this, then, constitutes some of the salient features of the Spanish expression of Catholicism. It is the same basic religion as in many other coun-tries but, because of past historical events and the particular character of the Spanish people, the Catholic religion here possesses its own unique external forms, in this land where, indeed, "things are different." Ohio State University NOTE 'This despite the fact that in the last ten years, the period in which Spain has legally enjoyed complete religious freedom-not merely tolerance- , some 60-68,000 Spaniards belong to non-Catholic religious groups. Out of a total population of approximately 35 million, this number is miniscule indeed (at the most, .0019% , or 19 out of every 10,000 Spaniards are not Catholic). Data from "Las otras iglesias," in Carta de Espana (Dec. 1976), p . 27. 5 3Cambria: The Spanish Expression of CatholicismPublished by eCommons, 19794University of Dayton Review, Vol. 13, No. 3 [1979], Art. 2https://ecommons.udayton.edu/udr/vol13/iss3/2

The Spanish Expression of Catholicism

https://ecommons.udayton.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1331&context=udr

The Spanish Expression of Catholicism

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

University of Dayton