Religions and health

In the article "The accomodation of religious diversity in prisons and hospitals in Spain", Maria del Mar Griera Llonch and Julia Martinez-Ariño give an account of the religious diversity in Spanish hospitals and analyse in particular the situation of Catalonia and Andalousia.

Source: Maria del Mar Griera Llonch, Julia Martinez-Ariño, "The accomodation of religious diversity in prisons and hospitals in Spain", RECODE Online Working Paper Series 28, 2014.

D 10 September 2014   

The theme of Covid-19 was chosen for the scientific discussion at the Eurel 2022 Correspondents’ Meeting. Here is the report for Spain.

D 11 October 2022    ARosa Martínez-Cuadros

Respect for the law on religious freedom in the hospital sector in Spain is recognised in and regulated by various legal texts: the Law on Religious Freedom of 1980, the Agreements between the Holy See and the Spanish State of 1979 and lastly the Agreements between the various dioceses and regional governments on the one hand and the 1992 Cooperation Agreements between the Spanish State and the Jewish, Protestant and Muslim communities on the other hand.

In 2011, the Fundacion Pluralismo y Convivencia published a guide with recommendations on dealing with religious diversity in hospitals (Guidelines for the management of religious diversity in hospitals, in Spanish).

In 2015, the Catalan Government issued new guidelines on how to deal with religious diversity in health facilities. Entitled Guidelines for the respect of the diversity of beliefs in health facilities (in Spanish), it offers recommendations as well as examples of best practices to handle religious diversity in medical contexts.

Nevertheless, the matter is not a topic of discussion at political level, and the practices of these institutions, strongly related to their Catholic past, are still visible today. The religious service offered is structured around various religious traditions and there are no multi-religious or multi-faith religious services, unlike in other countries.

D 28 March 2024    AJulia Martínez-Ariño