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Yes, I pointed out in the previous thread that priests are still on the government payroll there; this being a historical oddity (there are also differences in the social welfare regime) related to repeated 19th and 20th century border adjustment. In general I'm all in favour of colourful regional specificities, but if the 21st century turns out to be religious, as Malraux allegedly predicted, then it's more of a worrying precedent.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
by eurogreen on Wed Sep 5th, 2012 at 04:16:43 AM EST
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In Spain, the government pays "religion" [Catholic, of course] teachers' wages in the public school system, but the Conference of Bishops hires and fires them.

If you are not convinced, try it on someone who has not been entirely debauched by economics. — Piero Sraffa
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Sep 5th, 2012 at 04:46:49 AM EST
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But this is a result of the existence of a "Concordat" between "the Spanish State" and "the Vatican State".

It's slightly alien to the concepts of "secularization", "secular society (or non denominational policy)" and "freedom of conscience".

by PerCLupi on Thu Sep 6th, 2012 at 12:48:19 AM EST
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The Concordat is the typical form European Catholic countries' lack of separation between Church and State takes.

If you are not convinced, try it on someone who has not been entirely debauched by economics. — Piero Sraffa
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Sep 6th, 2012 at 01:54:34 AM EST
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