Only 55% of Spaniards over the age of 18 identify as Catholic, a figure that is considerably lower than the 90% recorded in the second half of the 1970s.

This is according to a report published by Funcas Foundation that analyses the secularisation of society in Spain, a country that for centuries was considered one of the bastions of Roman Catholicism and a driving force behind its international spread.

Although the decline in the proportion of Catholics is substantial in all age groups, it is particularly profound among the youngest, according to data from the European Social Survey analysed by Funcas.

Thus, in 2002, 60% of the population aged 18 to 29 identified as Catholic, while in 2024 only 32% did so. In contrast, among those aged 70 and over, identification as Catholic fell from 89% to 77% over the same period.

The advance of secularisation can be explained in part by generational replacement, but also by the progressive disaffection of many people with Catholicism.

For example, 83% of those born between 1943 and 1952 identified as Catholic in 2002, when they were between 50 and 59 years old, but by 2024, when they were between 70 and 79 years old, that figure had fallen to 73%. This trend is even more pronounced among younger generations: between 2002 and 2024, the proportion of Catholics among those born between 1973 and 1984 fell from 60% to 42%.

The rise of agnosticism and atheism

The space lost by Catholicism is not being filled by other religious beliefs but is mostly taken up by those who declare themselves indifferent, agnostic or atheist, i.e. those who have no religious affiliation.

Thus, the percentage of those who do not identify with any religion has risen from 22% in 2002 to 42% in 2024, representing a substantial change in the country's religious landscape.

Although the report dismisses the growth of religious minorities in Spain, it is clear that in percentage terms these faith groups remain well behind the major trends identified.

In 2018, 2% of Spaniards declared themselves to be evangelical, compared to 0.2% in 1998. It is estimated that there are around 1.5 million people in Spain who regularly attend evangelical churches.

Collapse of religious marriages, less Catholicism at schools

The loss of influence of religion in everyday life can be seen in two indicators that reflect the declining role of Catholicism in the socialisation of future generations and suggest that the process of secularisation still has some way to go: the collapse of Catholic marriages and the gradual decline in enrolment in Catholic religion classes.

With regard to the former, in 2023, only 18% of marriages were celebrated according to the Catholic rite; in 1976, virtually all marriages were religious, and even in 2000, they still accounted for 76% of the total.

Regarding the proportion of children enrolled in Catholic religion classes at school, in the last academic year for which data is available, 2022-2023, 56% of primary school pupils were enrolled, compared to 85% in the first academic year for which data is available, 1998-1999.

In public schools, enrolment in this subject fell from 81% to 44%. The Funcas Foundation report concludes that these factors point to an advance in secularisation in the coming years, although ‘the medium-term future is not so obvious’ and factors such as immigration or other circumstances could change the forecasts.

The foundation defines itself as a think tank dedicated to economic and social research and its dissemination, promoting interaction between the academic sphere and the real economy.

The full report is available here.