During the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s, many of the Republican forces were violently anti-clerical anarchists and Communists, whose assaults during what has been termed Spain's red terror included sacking and burning monasteries and churches and killing 6,832 members of the Catholic clergy. ^[1] It has been suggested that Historical persecution by Christians#Theological debate of persecution be merged into this article or section. ... The Dechristianisation of France during the French Revolution is a conventional description of the results of a number of separate policies, conducted by various governments of France between the start of the French Revolution in 1789 and the Concordat of 1801. ... The struggle between church and state in Mexico broke out in armed conflict during the Cristero War (also known as the Cristiada) of 1926 to 1929. ... Conflicts between Christians and non-Christians have at times resulted in the persecution by Christians of non-Christians. ... Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow was demolished by Soviet authorities in 1931 to make way for the Palace of Soviets. ... Chinese monk lighting incense in Beijing temple. ... A forced conversion occurs when someone adopts a religion or philosophy under the threat that a refusal would result in negative consequences not just in the afterlife but in this life too, ranging from job loss, social isolation to incarceration, torture, or death. ... A religious war is a war justified by religious differences. ... Religious discrimination is valuing a person or group lower because of their religion, or treating someone differently because of what they do or dont believe. ... Religion and neo-fascism refers to the relationship between neo-fascism and religion. ... Religious intolerance is either intolerance motivated by ones own religious beliefs or intolerance against anothers religious beliefs or practices. ... The Mutaween (مطوعين in Arabic) (variant English spellings: mutawwain, muttawa, mutawallees, mutawa’ah, mutawi’) are the government-authorized or -recognized religious police (or clerical police or public order police) within Islamist theocracies which adhere to varied interpretations of Sharia Law in which governments are either directly controlled by or significantly under... Religious terrorism refers to terrorism justified or motivated by religion and is a form of religious violence. ... Religious violence Throughout history, religious beliefs have provoked some believers into violence. ... The term Spiritual abuse was coined in the late twentieth century to refer to abusive or aberrational practices identified in the behavior and teachings of some churches, spiritual and religious organizations and groups. ... Contrary to popular belief, the Africans enslaved to build the economic foundation of America were not Christians. ... Many followers of Ancient Greek religion have experienced persecution, mainly from Christians. ... Many adherents of the Ancient Roman religion were persecuted by Christians during the period after the death of Constantine and the reign of Julian, only to enjoy a respite for a number of years before the persecution resumed once again under Gratian and Theodosius I. Persecution in this sense may... Many atheists have experienced persecution, mainly from Christians and Muslims. ... The persecution of Baháís refers to the religious persecution of Baháís in various countries, especially in Iran, the nation of origin of the Baháí Faith, Irans largest religious minority and the location of one of the largest Baháí populations in the world. ... Many Buddhists have experienced persecution from non-Buddhists during the history of Buddhism. ... Cathars being expelled from Carcassonne in 1209. ... First Christians // In the two thousand years of the Christian faith, about 70 million believers have been killed for their faith, of whom 45. ... Many adherents of Germanic paganism have been persecuted, mainly by Christians. ... Persecution of Hindus refers to the religious persecution inflicted upon Hindus. ... An anti-Mormon political cartoon from the late nineteenth century. ... Conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims made the persecution of both Muslims and non-Muslims a recurring phenomenon during the history of Islam. ... Persecution of Pagans includes the loss of human rights under the law or through individual hate crimes for people who practise or who might be thought to practise paganism. ... Persecution of members of the Rastafari movement, a group founded in Jamaica in the early 1930s and who worship Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia as Almighty God, has been fairly continuous since the movement began but nowadays is particularly concerning their spiritual use of cannabis, an illegal drug almost... Many adherents of Roman religion have been persecuted, mainly by Christians. ... A Sikh man wearing a turban The adherents of Sikhism are called Sikhs. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... The persecution of Zoroastrians has been common since the fall of the Sassanid Empire and the rule of Umayyad Arab empire that replaced it. ... Combatants Spanish Republic With the support of: Soviet Union[1] Nationalist Spain With the support of: Italy Germany Commanders Manuel Azaña Francisco Largo Caballero Juan Negrín Francisco Franco Gonzalo Queipo de Llano Emilio Mola José Sanjurjo Casualties 500,000[2] The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict... Anarchism is a form of social criticism, a political movement as well as a political philosophy. ... Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a classless, stateless social organization based on common ownership of the means of production. ...

One scholar noted that despite the fact that "the Church...suffer[ed] appalling persecution" behind Republican lines, the events have been met by much silence and even attempts at justification by some scholars and memoirists. ^[2]

In the Spanish Civil War's first months most of the killing did not come from combat on the battlefield but from executions.

The Red terror started with the murder of some surendering rebels as the revolt faltered in some of the cities, and it expanded to widespread detentions, and even mass executions, of indivuals related to the right or to the Church. ^[3] It was not the spontaneous act of mobs but was at least partly organized and carried out by virtually all the leftist groups with the exception of the Basque Nationalists. ^[4] Basque may refer to: Look up Basque in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Unlike the repression by the right which concentrated on its most threatening opponents, the Red terror groups acted seemingly irrationally, "murdering innocent people and letting some of the more dangerous go free". ^[5] The Catholic clergy was a primary target of the Red terror, despite the fact that the vast majority was not involved in active opposition. ^[6]

President Manuel Azaña made the well-publicized comment that all of the convents in Madrid were not worth one Republican life. ^[7] An eye witness to some of the persecution, Cristina de Arteaga, who was soon to become a nun, commented that they "attacked the Salesians, people who are totally committed to the poor. There was a rumor that nuns were giving poisoned sweets to children. Some nuns were grabbed by the hair in the streets. One had her hair pulled out..." ^[8] On the night of July 19, 1936 alone, fifty churches were burned. ^[9] In Barcelona, out of the 58 churches, only the Cathedral was spared, and similar atrocities occured almost everywhere in Republican Spain. ^[10] Image:F manuel azana. ...

In the course of the Terror, 282 nuns, 13 bishops, 4172 diocesan priests, 2364 monks and friars, among them 259 Claretians, 226 Franciscans, 204 Piarists, 176 Brothers of Mary, 165 Christian Brothers, 155 Augustinians, 132 Dominicans, and 114 Jesuits were killed. ^{[11] [12]} In some dioceses, the numbers are overwhelming; in Barbastro 88 percent of the secular clergy were murdered, 66 percent in Lerida, 62 percent in Torrosa and between 20 to 50 percent in more than a dozen other dioceses. ^[13] There are accounts of Catholic faithful being forced to swallow rosary beads, thrown down mine shafts and priests being forced to dig their own graves before being buried alive. ^[14] The Catholic Church has seen fit to canonize several martyrs of the Spanish Civil War. This article discusses the process of declaring saints. ...

See also

• Spanish Civil War

Combatants Spanish Republic With the support of: Soviet Union[1] Nationalist Spain With the support of: Italy Germany Commanders Manuel Azaña Francisco Largo Caballero Juan Negrín Francisco Franco Gonzalo Queipo de Llano Emilio Mola José Sanjurjo Casualties 500,000[2] The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict...

References

1. ^ de la Cueva, Julio "Religious Persecution, Anticlerical Tradition and Revolution: On Atrocities against the Clergy during the Spanish Civil War" Journal of Contemporary History Vol.33(3) p. 355
2. ^ de la Cueva p. 355
3. ^ Payne, Stanley G. THE A History of Spain and Portugal, Vol. 2, Ch. 26, p. 649 (Print Edition: University of Wisconsin Press, 1973) (LIBRARY OF IBERIAN RESOURCES ONLINE Accessed May 15, 2007)
4. ^ Payne p. 649
5. ^ Payne p. 650
6. ^ Payne p. 650
7. ^ Mitchell, The Spanish Civil War p.17 (Franklin Watts 1983 New York)
8. ^ Mitchell p.17
9. ^ Mitchell p.45
10. ^ Mitchell p.46
11. ^ de la Cueva p. 355
12. ^ Beevor, Anthony The Battle for Spain (Penguin 2006).
13. ^ de la Cueva p. 355
14. ^ Beevor, Anthony The Battle for Spain (Penguin 2006).