The Libertarian (all forms of Libertarianism are Socialist; whether Free Market Socialist or Collectivist ect.*)“…view is that religion is a personal matter, above all else- if people want to believe in something, that’s their business, and nobody else’s as long as they do not impose those ideas on others.”

Freedom of Religion in Libertarian CNT-FAI Spain

By Nicholas Evans

The Libertarian (all forms of Libertarianism are Socialist; whether Free Market Socialist or Collectivist ect.*)“…view is that religion is a personal matter, above all else- if people want to believe in something, that’s their business, and nobody else’s as long as they do not impose those ideas on others.” 1.

This is why, despite being atheists, major Libertarian writers in the in the libertarian Individualist (market socialist) 2., Mutualist (regulated market socialist) 3., Collectivist, and Gift Economist 4. schools support religious freedom.

Bakunin, a collectivist, and libertarian of self employed and large scale democratically controlled industry, mentions:

“Neither society, nor any part of society- commune, province, or nation- has the right to prevent free individuals from associating freely for any purpose whatsoever: political, religious, scientific, artistic…” 5.

Libertarian Spain in the 1930’s:

What about the dismantling of various Catholic Churches in the Libertarian areas of Spain in the 1930’s?

The Catholic Churches were attacked because the Catholic Church held political power and worked with Hitler, Musolini, and Franco.

As journalist Seldes notes, while the Catholic church is usually thought of as neutral during the revolution, the Vatican and the Catholic church worked with Hitler and Musolini in an attempt to overthrow the Republic. Franco was to lead it. 6.

The Libertarians did respect freedom of religion.

Other churches that did not attempt to sabotage the Libertarians were left free:

As historian Thomas notes: "Protestant churches were not attacked, and remained open." 7.

The historian Jackson notes that in Barcelona the (Christian -ed) Quakers established canteens which were staffed by refugee women. 8.

The historian Bolloten notes: "In the Basque provinces nobody attacked the Church or interfered with religious worship, because, in contrast with the rest of the left camp, the clergy in those provinces sympathized with democratic and Republican institutions." 9.

Basque Anarchists and Communists attended mass. 10.

Regarding the crimes on Catholic nuns and priests and others:

Thomas notes: "The anarchist leadership also criticized the violence and tried to stem it within a few days...the C.N.T. and F.A.I. launched a series of protest against illegal violence" 11.

The historian Fraser mentions: "...the C.N.T. and F.A.I. issued statements categorically condemning the assassinations." 12.

Fraser also notes that in Barcelona and elsewhere the F.A.I. was automatically blamed for crimes. 13.

There were Catholics in the C.N.T. (The C.N.T. was the Libertarian Anarcho-Syndicalist Labor Union. The F.A.I. was a Libertarian organization.) 14.

As the C.N.T. itself stated:

“Could any other declaration be made? It is de rigueur (socially obligatory -ed*) that in any programme type declaration we register our respect for religions…” 15.

* Please see: Kropotkin, Peter., "Anarchism" The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1910. "As to their economical conceptions, the…” Libertarians “…in common with all socialists, of whom they constitute the left wing,…”

and

McKay, Iain. An Anarchist FAQ. Oakland, CA: AK Press. 2008. Pp. 23 “Are Anarchists Socialists? Yes…” (this includes, obviously, the Free Market Individualists. Please see Tucker‘s ‘State Socialism and Anarchism’)

Bibliography and Footnotes:

1. McKay, Iain. An Anarchist FAQ. Oakland, CA: AK Press. 2008. Pp. 58

2. Tucker, Benjamin (1897) (re-print 1972). Instead of a Book By a Man Too Busy to Write One. (pp. 6) New York: Gordon Press

While most Libertarians are atheists, they“… none less firmly believe in the liberty to believe in it.”

3. Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph General Idea of the Revolution in the Nineteenth Century. New York: Cosmo Classics., 2007 pp. 254

Proudhon states:

“Let public worship, like industry, be free… The right to assemble for prayer is equal to the right to assemble to talk politics or economics;…”

4. Berkman, Alexander. What is Anarchism? Oakland, CA: AK Press. 2003. Pg. 60

Berkman states:

“Maybe you are a Christian, or a member of some other religion -Jew, Mormon, Mohammedan, Buddhist, or what not… It makes no difference. A man should be free to believe whatever he pleases.”

Writers who prefer gatherer-hunter lifestyles such as John Zerzan and Freddy Perlman mention favorably hunter-gatherer bands with spiritual beliefs. As this article states:

“The spiritual world is a part of all aspects of !Kung life, determining health, death, and the abundance of food and water.”

Author unknown. The !Kung of the Kalahari Desert. University of Connecticut. Date unknown. Reprint from Nisa: The life and words of a !Kung woman by Shostak, M. (1981).

For references by Freddy Perlman, please see Against History, Against Leviathan

And of course there are excellent Catholic Libertarians such as Dorthy Day and Catholic Libertarian influenced groups such as Catholic Worker. Please see: McKay, Iain. An Anarchist FAQ. Oakland, CA: AK Press. 2008. Pp. 75

5. Bakunin, Michael; Dolgoff, Sam (editor). Bakunin on Anarchy New York: Random House Inc. 1972. Pg. 82

For references by Freddy Perlman, please see Against History, Against Leviathan

6. Mumford, Stephen. The Life and Death of NSSM 200. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina: Center for Research on Population and Security, 1996. Pp 263-264

7. Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. New York, USA: Touchstone. 1986 pp 269

8. Jackson, Gabriel. The Spanish Republic and the Civil War, 1931-1939. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 1965 pp 446

9. Bolloten, Burnett. The Grand Camouflage. London: Pall Mall Press. (1968) pp 40

10. Quinn, Martin. European Vibe Magazine: A Bit of Culture. Issue 28, April 2009

11. Thomas, Hugh. The Spanish Civil War. New York, USA: Touchstone. 1986 pp 277

12. Fraser, Ronald. Blood of Spain. New York: Pantheon Books. (1979). pp 149

13. Ibid. pp 148

14. Fraser, Ronald. Blood of Spain. New York: Pantheon Books. (1979). pp 364

“…many of the people fighting in his column were smallholders, and that a great number of different tendencies were represented: republicans, socialists, liberals, Catholics, Libertarians.”

15. Peirats, Jose. The C.N.T. in the Spanish Revolution Vol. 3. East Sussex: ChristieBooks. (2001) pp 75. On religion, the C.N.T. National Committee on May 10th, 1938 Circular No. 12 mentioned regarding freedom of conscience and freedom of religion:

“Could any other declaration be made? It is de rigueur (socially obligatory -ed*) that in any programme type declaration we register our respect for religions…”

About the author: Nicholas Evans is interested in history, anthropology, and economics. He prefers peaceful and/or gradual change