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This paper analyzes the political dimension of Miguel Masriera's (1901–1981) science popularization program. In the 1920s, Masriera worked at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich – with Hermann Staudinger, the luminary of polymer chemistry – to later become a lecturer of theoretical and physical chemistry at the University of Barcelona. After living in exile in Paris, at the end of the Civil War he returned to Spain but never recovered his position. Instead, Masriera became an active popular science writer and adapted to the severe constraints of General Franco's military dictatorship (1939–1975). Inspired by the astronomer Arthur Eddington's world view, Masriera wrote and translated popular science books, and published articles in daily newspapers and journals. By examining Masriera's popular works, in particular his program for spreading “atomic culture” in Spain during the Cold War, this paper aims to contribute to the assessment of the role of science popularization in the domestic legitimization of that dictatorial regime and also its use as a vehicle for international recognition abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Religious freedom has always been considered to be a central issue in liberal and enlightened thought. Thus, attention has often been drawn to the shortage of observations on tolerance in the works of Spanish enlightened reformers, as also to the uncompromising prohibition of non-Catholic religions contained in the Cadiz Constitution of 1812. In recent years, some scholars have argued that, because of the absence of religious minorities in Spain, the dominating influence on Spanish society of the Catholic Church and Spain's insufficient openness to European culture, Spanish liberals did not really begin to appreciate and discuss religious freedom as an ideal until the periods of exile following from 1814 and 1823. This paper aims to show, however, through analysis of one of the most relevant Spanish journals of the eighteenth century, that the matter of freedom of religious belief was indeed debated in Spain during the reigns of Carlos III and Carlos IV and that, in spite of the threat of censorship, some Spaniards did dare to write and publish work in favour of religious tolerance during that period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]