Bureaucracy, Church and Constitution: Crisis of the Second Republic?

Abstract

Bureaucracy, Church and Constitution: Crisis of the Second Republic?

This paper analyses the constitutional crisis caused by the conflict between demo- cratic power and religious power during the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939). First, the impetus for secular reform is studied through certain administrative resolutions and measures, which will allow us to explore the conflictive process of secularisation within the state apparatus. Next, the constitutional implications of secular reform are outlined, as well as, in particular, the relationship between the Constitution and the Concordat. This allows us to explore the conflict between State and Church from the point of view of the sources of law. Linked to the above, this article details the impact of practices contrary to secularism – whether political- parliamentary, administrative or judicial – on the constitutional order. Finally, it is concluded that the dynamics of the State were, to a large extent, in line with the interests of the Church, which undermined the legitimacy and effectiveness of the constitutional and democratic order of the Republic.

Received: 2024/11/15

Admitted: 2024/12/16