BOOK CHAPTER (35-54)
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
In Spanish law, religious freedom of foreigners is contemplated in all legislative
levels. For more than twenty years, since the promulgation of the Spanish
Constitution in 1978 and, subsequently, the Organic Law on Religious Freedom,
enacted in 1980, until 2000, the protection of religious freedom of immigrants in
Spain was not a concern for the Spanish legislator. It is due to the fact that the law
on religious freedom considers the individuals as holders of that freedom. It means
that the individuals could be both Spanish nationals and foreigners. However, the
enactment in 2000 of the Organic Law on the rights and duties of foreigners in
Spain and their social integration, marked the introduction of an odd distinction
between foreigners, which could be in a regular or in an irregular situation in
Spain. That fact affected some rights contained in the broad right of religious
freedom, such as the rights of assembly or the right to meet themselves for religious
reasons. So, Spanish legislation on limited the access to such rights by foreigners in
an irregular situation. These restrictive rules were considered inconstitutional by
Spanish Constitutional Court; so, it finished that discrimination. This work also
deals with rules agreed between the Spain and the main religious communities
existing in Spain (Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims) to ensure the religious
assistance of foreigner people inside the immigration detention centres.
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