The impact of the second republic’s lay policies in the secularization of consciences

the fulfillment of Easter duty in Spain from 1931 to 1936

Abstract

In light of the main guidelines of Spain’s Second Republic religious policy, the present paper attempts to assess the impact of the lay legislation of the First Biennium in the process of secularization of consciences, a process already started among the Spanish society prior to the proclamation of the new regime. The existence of diverse opinions and of somewhat opposite evidence with regard to the religiosity of the time, even its measurement according to their most basic parameters, has led us to use Easter duty register books in order to study the concrete evolution of the levels of Easter fulfillment during those crucial years of the Second Republic.