Spain’s evangelical federation says pastors should remain politically neutral

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spain’s evangelical Christian federation FEREDE on Monday called on preachers to “avoid using their pastoral influence to shape believers’ votes.”

This came after Yadira Maestre, an evangelical pastor, spoke at a Popular Party event with the Latin American community in Madrid over the weekend.

Maestre, a pastor based in Madrid but originally from Colombia, prayed for God to bless the Popular Party candidates ahead of local and national elections.

The Popular Party is Spain's largest conservative party and acts as the main opposition to the federal coalition government.

This is the first time an evangelical pastor has spoken at an official Popular Party event, according to the Spanish daily El Diario.

Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the Popular Party president of Madrid, went on stage after Maestre, accusing Spain’s progressive government of hailing more “immorality” as progress.

Another Popular Party leader slammed President Pedro Sanchez for meeting with “dictators” at the annual Ibero-American summit over the weekend, while Spain’s opposition party was with “the inheritors of American freedom” in Madrid.

While Catholicism is the strongest religion in Spain, the evangelical population has been increasing, primarily due to Latin American immigrants. A recent study found the number of evangelical churches grew from 2,796 in 2011 to 4,340 in 2023.

However, Spain’s evangelical federation said it believes in the separation of church and state and even includes political neutrality in its code of ethics.

In Monday’s statement, it said “the vast majority of our evangelical churches in Spain” are politically neutral due to the “political plurality among its worshippers.”