Argument over nativity scenes and church-state separation are not limited to the United States. AFP reported yesterday that in Madrid, Spain, a small nativity scene at the state prosecutor's office led to objections from a top judge who objected that it violated the church-state separation guaranteed by Spain's 1978 Constitution. Supporters were unsuccessful in arguing that the nativity scene was a cultural symbol rather than a religious one, and it was taken down on orders of an official in the prosecutor's office. Catholic symbols remain prominent in Spain, 30 years after the end of Francisco Franco's dictatorship which treated Catholicism as a state religion. Currently Spain's Socialist government is drafting a new law on religious freedom that will give greater support to religious diversity and secularism.
Art. 16(3) of Spain's Constitution provides: "No religion shall have a state character. The public powers shall take into account the religious beliefs of Spanish society and maintain the appropriate relations of cooperation, with the Catholic Church and other denominations."
