Explaining Morality Policy Coalitions in Spanish Parliamentary Votes: The Interaction of the Church-State Conflict and Territorial Politics

ABSTRACT

In this article we empirically explore the impact of the state-Church conflict on progressive moral policies. Taking Spain as a case study, we analyse the parliamentary interaction of political parties in a number of policy domains that provoke a moral conflict. We examine the principal legislative acts relating to abortion, divorce, same-sex marriage, euthanasia and gender equality from the early 1980s to 2021. We look beyond the religious divide and argue that its interaction with territorial politics, which is in turn shaped by specific institutional features, explains the formation of political coalitions that are conducive to moral legislation. Furthermore, we show that political coalitions vary depending on how explicit or implicit a given morality conflict is.

KEYWORDS:

• Religious cleavage
• party politics
• Southern European welfare states
• Spain
• same-sex marriage
• abortion
• euthanasia
• gender equality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary Material

Supplementary data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2022.2132614

Notes

1. Previously named AP (Alianza Popular – People’s Alliance).

2. See figure A1 in the annexe for a complementary graphic showing the percentage of non-religious or atheist voters.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats [ICREA ACADEMIA 2018].

Notes on contributors

Margarita León

Margarita León is Associate professor of Political Science at the Universitat Autònoma Barcelona (UAB). Her main areas of research are comparative social policy and welfare state reform. She has published in numerous international peer-reviewed scientific journals. She co-edited with A.M. Guillén The Spanish Welfare State in European Context (2011, Ashgate) and edited The Transformation of Care in European Societies (2014, Palgrave).

Manuel Alvariño

Manuel Alvariño is a pre-doctoral researcher at the European University Institute (EUI). He participates in the WellSIRE and EUROSHIP research projects. He holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (University Pompeu Fabra) and an MA in Political Economy (University of Amsterdam). His work focuses on the comparative politics and outcomes of work-life balance policies in Europe.

Llorenç Soler-Buades

Llorenç Soler-Buades is a pre-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Government and Public Policy (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). He holds a BA in Political Science and Public Administration (Universitat de Barcelona) and an MA in Social Policy, Employment and Welfare (UAB). His research interests include comparative social policy and minimum income schemes in Europe.