Conflicts over religious schooling in marital crises: jurisprudential analysis of parental conflict, change of beliefs and psychological gender violence

Abstract

Following a marital breakdown, disagreements between parents regarding schooling at a religious institution do not automatically create legal preference or exclusion. Spanish law resolves these conflicts through a complex balancing process that integrates fundamental rights, the joint exercise of parental authority, educational stability, and the best interests of the child, in accordance with Article 156 of the Civil Code. Constitutional doctrine requires that the conflicting rights —religious freedom, parental educational rights, and state neutrality— be assessed without assigning precedence to any one a priori, while family religious background lacks independent decision-making power.

Civil jurisprudence insists that educational decisions must be based on the specific well-being of the child and on objective criteria such as stability, proximity, cost, and social integration, allowing for intermediate solutions that preserve the ideological freedom of both parents.

However, the presence of psychological violence introduces a structuring element into the judicial analysis, capable of modifying the assessment and attribution of parental powers, reflecting the evolution of Family Law towards a protective model focused on the safety of the child.