The Ultraconservative Agenda Against Sexual Rights in Spain: A Catholic Repertoire of Contention to Reframe Public Concerns

Abstract

Although the Spanish population actually supports sexual-rights policies, the Roman Catholic Church, right-wing parties, and anti-gender groups have been lobbying and marching against same-sex marriage laws and antidiscrimination policies since 2004. Several repertoires of contention have been employed under the ideological framework of the Vatican’s gender doctrine and, at the same time, as an expression of the new tendencies of postsecularism about religious citizenship, also inspired by the Vatican’s promotion of the so-called “New Evangelization.” This chapter explores the actors, strategies, and discourses of Catholic activists in Spain. Having first sketched the historical context of Spain, the chapter explores the religious and secular repertoires of mobilization developed by several Catholic activist groups over the last one and half a decades—from demonstrations and social media campaigns to complaints in court and international conferences—as well as the adoption of a new doctrinal language to blur the private–public boundaries in political debates.