In Spain, evangelical churches have once again become a major topic of debate in the media and a political weapon, particularly following an event that brought together 35,000 evangelicals, mostly Pentecostals, in Madrid on 2 May.
In the face of sensationalist reporting, prejudiced opinions and mockery, several Christian representatives (including the Spanish Evangelical Alliance) have lamented the intolerance and lack of seriousness in reporting on this religious minority.
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The Madrid Assembly (the regional parliament representing the capital and other large cities in the centre of Spain) witnessed a heated political confrontation on its weekly plenary session on 14 May over the presence of evangelical preachers on the Metro.
Leftist opposition party Más Madrid is calling for an update to public transport regulations to “prevent” evangelical preachers from “disturbing” passengers.
Member of Parliament Emilio Delgado launched an offensive against evangelicals and Pentecostals, which he described as “a cult” that “harasses” passengers. IN response, Madrid’s Transport Minister, Jorge Rodrigo (of the Conservative People’s Party), argued that current regulations already allow for action to be taken.
But MP Emilio Delgado went on in his use of time to point out that “in the Community of Madrid, we have for some time now been witnessing the emergence of a particularly aggressive religious force, closely linked to the MAGA movement and Donald Trump. I am talking about the Pentecostal evangelicals, who are socially ultra-conservative and economically ultra-liberal”.
The oppositions spokesman told the chamber about his “concern” about the presence of “this cult” in public spaces of the city, arguing that “Madrid’s public transport is being used to promote the events of these scammers and swindlers”. He seemed to refer to the advertising spaces bought to promote the Festival of Hope with Franklin Graham, in Madrid, to be held at the end of May.
The MP described evangelical Christians as people who “claim to perform miracles, to make the blind see, the lame walk, and to make people speak in dead languages”. According to his description, these practices are causing a “deterioration in public order” on public transport, as “they enter carriages to harangue people”.
Delgado called on the regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, to focus on “updating Metro regulations to prevent her friends from holding people hostage”.
At the press conference after the political debate, Pedro Tarquis, representing Spanish Christian news website Protestante Digital, asked Manuela Bergerot, the spokesperson for Más Madrid in the Madrid Regional Assembly about the issue.
Q.- Emilio Delgado, a Más Madrid MP, has made a statement based on a specific incident of harassment by some evangelical preachers on the metro, and has gone on to generalise by talking about evangelical cults, Pentecostals, etc. Given that the Community of Madrid has a legal agreement with the Evangelical Churches, I would like you to clarify whether the position expressed by Delgado is the official position of Más Madrid.
A.- Today, my colleague Emilio Delgado did indeed ask the Transport Minister about these discourses in the Madrid metro. We have heard from a Transport Minister who does not wish to take responsibility, who should indeed ensure the smooth running of the metro and, above all, that passengers can enjoy a peaceful journey without religious references that should remain in the private sphere of each individual and not on Madrid’s public transport.
Más Madrid’s remarks in the parliamentary debate came against a broader political backdrop that clashes with his current defence of freedoms: the leftist party has repeatedly refused to support bans on the burqa or niqab in public spaces, citing grounds of religious freedom and social harmony, which has reignited the debate over the consistency of his stance regarding religious expression in public spaces.
During the plenary session, Madrid’s Regional Minister for Housing, Transport and Infrastructure, Jorge Rodrigo, responded by arguing that current Metro regulations already allow action to be taken against any behaviour that disrupts social harmony.
Rodrigo asserted that the passenger regulations are “sufficient”, that they “work” and that they “promote social harmony, safety and the normal functioning of the service”.
“Action is taken against illegal street vending, against the causing of disturbances, against those who break the rules, and action is also taken against certain preachers when they disturb passengers. But you have not raised this issue here because of noise or social harmony. You have raised it, I insist, because they are Christians”, he added.
The member of government then pointed out that, if these people were spreading “communist propaganda or preaching the virtues of the Bolivian revolution”, Más Madrid “would keep very quiet (…) You are uncomfortable with Christianity because it represents the exact opposite of your political project”.
Columnists at Evangelical Focus have responded in recent days to the hostile views expressed in Spanish newspapers and on television channels with varying political leanings, all of which had in common the stereotyping and ridicule of the country’s evangelical Christians.
Published in: Evangelical Focus – cities
– ‘Scammers’, ‘cult’, ‘Trump supporters’: Evangelicals attacked in Madrid parliament plenary session