Militant Atheism during the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1936). The Liga atea, the Nakens’s group, and the Biblioteca de los sin Dios

Abstract

Militant Atheism during the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1936). The Liga atea, the Nakens’s group, and the Biblioteca de los sin Dios

During the Second Spanish Republic, various entities, publications and editorial collections emerged in Spain that aspired to spread militant atheism. Beyond the traditional secularist and anticlerical discourse of the Spanish left, these initiatives were distinguished by their fight against religions – particularly the Catholic religion – and their strident criticism of the limitations that, in their opinion, the secularist policy of the republican governments presented. This work discusses the three main branches of Spanish antitheism in the period 1931-1936: the Atheist League – a section of the pro-Soviet International of Proletarian Freethinkers –, the Barcelona group Nakens and its magazine “El Ateo” – close to Lerrouxist republi- canism –, and the nucleus articulated around the journalist Augusto Vivero and the Library of the Godless, connected to extreme left republicanism.

Received: 20/07/2023

Admitted: 12/09/2023