The crucifix in the dock

For the first time in Spanish history, a court in the Castilian city of Valladolid has ordered the removal of crucifixes from classrooms at the Macías Picavea state school. According to La Repubblica this ruling in favour of freedom of religion "could spread from a local to a national level and cause a chain reaction that harmonises with the image of a secular state promoted by the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. The crucifix is on trial, the charge is violation of the basic rights of equality, freedom of religion and freedom of belief guaranteed by the state. After 40 years of Franco dictatorship and Catholicism as a state religion, the democratic constitution adopted in 1978 and its judiciary were aimed at establishing secularity and freedom of belief. It is owing to the ambivalent stance of the Socialists, who are reluctant to fan the conflict with the Church, that religious symbols are still present today. But where politics remains silent the magistrates have passed sentence, and this ruling could be just the first step."

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