A comprehensive study of life and politics in Spain between 1875 and 1975, combining social and political history in its examination of popular cults, religious communities, the clergy, and Catholic social organizations, as well as ecclesiastical politics, drawing heavily on Catholic and ecclesiastical materials.

The Catholic Church has always been a major player in European and world history. Whether it has enjoyed a religious dominance or existed as a minority religion, Catholicism has never been diverted from political life. "Priests, Prelates and People" records the Church struggling to adapt to the new political landscape ushered in by the French Revolution, and shows how the formation of nation states and identities was both helped and hindered by the Catholic establishment. It portrays the Vatican increasingly out of step in the wake of world war, Cold War and the massive expansion of the developing world, with its problems of population growth and under-development.

Through a combination of inspiring real-life stories, firsthand experiences, and exposition of key Scripture passages, Dr. Moeller and Pastor Hegg examine the "normal Christian life" of Christ-followers currently suffering persecution around the world.

A comparative study of Nationalist Army and Republican Popular Army conscripts during the Spanish Civil War. Draws extensively on unpublished archival material to analyse the conflict from the perspective of those who were involved against their will.

Some 750 alphabetically-arranged entries provide insights into recent cultural and political developments within Spain, including the cultures of Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque country. Coverage spans from the end of the Civil War in 1939 to the present day, with emphasis on the changes following the demise of the Franco dictatorship in 1975. Entries range from shorter, factual articles to longer overview essays offering in-depth treatment of major issues. Culture is defined in its broadest sense. Entries include: *Antonio Gaudí * science * Antonio Banderas * golf * dance * education * politics * racism * urbanization This Encyclopedia is essential reading for anyone interested in Spanish culture. It provides essential cultural context for students of Spanish, European History, Comparative European Studies and Cultural Studies.

ÔReligion, Rights and Secular Society by Peter Cumper and Tom Lewis is a both timely and important publication. In a series of highly interesting and well-written essays Ð some of which are case studies covering many different European nations whereas others are more theoretical Ð the book looks at a key paradox in contemporary Europe: the relatively high levels of secularity in most European countries on the one hand, and the marked resurgence of religion in public debates on the other. While never pretending that there are ready answers to the problems of reconciling secular and religious values in Europe, the contributors make it quite clear that Europeans need to return to questions about religion that they had previously regarded as being settled. This is food for thought at a very high level!Õ Ð Helle Porsdam, University of Copenhagen, Denmark This topical collection of chapters examines secular society and the legal protection of religion and belief across Europe, both in general and more nation-specific terms. The expectations of many that religion in modern Europe would be swept away by the powerful current of secularization have not been realised, and today few topics generate more controversy than the complex relationship between religious and secular values. The Ôreligious/secularÕ relationship is examined in this book, which brings together scholars from different parts of Europe and beyond to provide insights into the methods by which religion and equivalent beliefs have been, and continue to be, protected in the legal systems and constitutions of European nations. The contributorsÕ chapters reveal that the oft-tumultuous legacy of EuropeÕs relationship with religion still resonates across a continent where legal, political and social contours have been powerfully shaped by faith and religious difference. Covering recent controversies such as the Islamic headscarf, and the presence of the crucifix in school class-rooms, this book will appeal to academics and students in law, human rights and the social sciences, as well as law and policy makers and NGOs in the field of human rights.

Drawing on a Gramscian theoretical perspective and developing a systematic comparative approach, The Civic Foundations of Fascism in Europe challenges the received Tocquevillian consensus on authoritarianism by arguing that fascist regimes, just like mass democracies, depended on well-organised, rather than weak and atomised, civil societies. In making this argument the book focuses on three crucial cases of interwar authoritarianism: Italy, Spain and Romania, selected because they are all counterintuitive from the perspective of established explanations, while usefully demonstrating the range of fascist outcomes in interwar Europe. Civic Foundations argues that, in all three cases, fascism emerged because of the rapid development of voluntary associations, combined with weakly developed political parties among the dominant class, thus creating a crisis of hegemony. Riley then traces the specific form that this crisis took depending on the form of civil society developed (autonomous, as in Italy; elite-dominated, as in Spain; or state-dominated, as in Romania) in the nineteenth century.