Divorce Rate Skyrocketing in Spain

In 2008, Spain now has one divorce for every 2.3 marriages.  This is an increase of 74% in a bit more than two years.”  This is a pretty progressive acceleration even when the  institution of marriage is placed in direct comparison to some of the fastest sports cars on the market.

Initially, in 1981, the process of divorce required couples to remain together under certain rules of process such as a mandatory waiting period of one year following the date or marriage before being allowed to file for separation.  This separation was followed by still another year wait before parties were legally permitted to file for divorce. 

The original legislation was amended in  2005.  Since then, the number of filings have skyrocketed.  In fact, Spain has one of the highest divorce rates in the European Union according to the report. Of course, there are many opponents to such change.

The Catholic Church openly suggests this is a major threat to the family and suggest it is the road to abortion and despair for the country.  In addition, Cardinal Augustin Garcia-Gasco suggests it underlies the threat posed by the Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.  In December 2007 in Madrid a rally was held to support and “defend the Christian family”, with hundreds of thousands of supporters attending.  At the rally, Benigno Blanco, president of the Spanish Forum for the Family agreed with the Cardinal’s assertions by stating, “The Reform (Spain’s 2005 Divorce reform) has transformed the marriage contract into trash”.

While those associated with the Catholic Church and others see the newly amended divorce process as a contributing factor leading to the loss of old family values, others such as sociologist Inez Alberdi see no cause for concern.  She suggests that while the number of divorces has climbed, the number of separations has decreased by almost the same amount.