Unitarian Universalist Religious Society of Spain

The Unitarian Universalist Religious Society of Spain (Sociedad religiosa Unitaria Universalista de España, aka known by the acronym SUUE) is the organizing body for Unitarian Universalism in Spain. The SUUE is a member of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) since June 2001, and has fellowships in Barcelona and Madrid.

The organization considers itself to inherit from a tradition of liberal religion in Spain. A key figure in historical Unitarian Universalism, Michael Servetus, was a Spaniard, and a few other Spanish reformers were Unitarians (living abroad in exile) or were inspired by Unitarian leaders.

In 2001, the Spanish Ministry of Justice denied the registration of SUUE as a religious organization in Spain on the grounds that it lacked a creed. This rejection was confirmed in 2006 after a second request for legalization was made that emphasized the religious nature of the organization and its historical and denominational links. Therefore the Spanish Unitarian Universalists have to look for alternate ways of legalization that preclude the existence of SUUE as it had been originally conceived by its promoters.

History

Although the pioneer and first martyr of European Unitarianism was a Spaniard, Michael Servetus, the Spanish Inquisition and the religious hegemony of the Catholic Church over both the State and the Spanish society, blocked for centuries any possibility of developing a Unitarian Church in Spain.

This situation began to change in the 19th century. A liberal Spanish writer and former priest, José María Blanco-White, became a Unitarian during his exile in England and remained so until the end of his life (1841). At the end of the century, a group of liberal Spanish intellectuals and reformers, the Krausistas (who received this name for being followers of German idealist philosopher Karl Krause), were admirers of American Unitarian leaders William Ellery Channing and Theodore Parker, and wished that natural religion and religious rationalism were more present in Spain, although they did not create any liberal church to push that process forward.

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) put an end to any expectations of change and liberal developments in Spain for several decades. After the death of dictator Francisco Franco and the approval of a democratic Constitution in 1978, religious freedom was finally established in Spain (although still with many restrictions in actual practice). In 2000, the Sociedad Unitaria Universalista de España (Unitarian Universalist Society of Spain) was founded in Barcelona and in 2001 it became a member of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU). In 2005 it changed its name to the Unitarian Universalist Religious Society of Spain in order to achieve legal status as a religious organization under the Spanish law on Religious Freedom.

Number of congregations

As of 2006, the UU Religious Society of Spain has 2 local congregations, Barcelona and Madrid, plus a "National Congregation" that includes scattered members nationwide. The local groups are ruled by congregational polity.