Spanish evangelicals unite in forum for freedom of expression
Evangelical churches in Spain are usually small. Photo RD, Klaas van der Zwaag
Southern Europe
The evangelical churches of Spain come together in a forum for the freedom of expression. That decision was reached during a meeting organised by the Spanish Evangelical Alliance.
The new platform will be called “Forum of Elah”, after the valley in which David killed Goliath. That name illustrates how the churches see themselves: as the little one against the big enemies.
The Evangelical Alliance was asked to hold a meeting to discuss the threats to the freedom of expression, writes Evangelical Focus. This led to the idea of creating a forum for joint action to deal with cases that violate religious and conscience freedom.
Unite against threats
According to EF, almost all evangelical groups are participating in this, from Pentecostal to Baptist. The churches try to “unite in plurality in the face of external threats”, which is in harmony with the “defence of the freedoms of expression and conscience” that is part of the foundation of the Evangelical Alliance. The Spanish Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities (FEREDE) is in contact but is not participating. However, it has offered legal cooperation.
The Forum of Elah is not there to unite the churches but to coordinate actions when the freedom of churches or pastors is violated in fundamental aspects.
Within the Forum, several working groups have been set up about hate crime, scientific support, pedagogy in the church, spiritual battle, and media.
Hate crimes against Christians
Evangelical Focus does not mention the concrete problems with freedom of expression for evangelicals in Spain. But it is known that the number of crimes against Christians in Europe is rising. That was reported last November based on the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe (OIDAC).
In some countries, Christians cannot work in specific health care jobs since they have conscientious objections against abortion. Many believers have experienced that they have been stigmatised in the media. And there is always vandalism against churches and other religious objects.
In Sweden, the court will have the case against Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen later this month. She was charged with hate crime because she quoted a Bible text on Facebook about homosexuality.
Evangelicals grow in Spain
The number of evangelical churches has been growing in the last 30 years, EF reported earlier. A researcher counted 4,000 places of worship in 2018. The growth came partly because of immigration from Latin America.
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