Female Catholics with class consciousness? Workers and Ladies of Spanish Catholic Action during Francoism: A history of influence and disagreement in terms of gender, religion and class

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse the process of awareness of the Workers Brotherhood of Female Catholic Action (WBFCA) during the first decades of Francoism. To this effect, a perspective is considered which establishes a dialogue and puts a strain on the notions of gender, class and religion within Catholic Spanish Action (CSA). This research shows the importance of Catholic workers’ identities in order to understand in depth the social participation modes “from below” developed in that period, as well as the conduct of Catholic workers therein. Drawing on female individual memories, this research displays some of the WBFCA subjectivities. Finally, the paper analyses some individual –and collective– tensions that arose between the workers and the CSA ladies, a point that allows for a better understanding of the communal narratives provided by the working class.

Keywords

• acción católica española
• hoacf
• franquismo
• catolicismo social
• intersecciones
• estudios de género