The presence of religion in Spain is in decline, with almost half of the nation’s population identifying as non-religious, according to a new study.
Just 54% of those surveyed for the Barometer on Religion and Beliefs in Spain (BREC) 2025, viewed themselves as religious, while 42% said otherwise, highlighting a national move towards secularism.
This trend is exacerbated when age is accounted for; 56% of those over 64 identified as religious, compared to just 33% of those between 18 and 24, as revealed by Evangelical Focus. However, the study did not provide information on minority faiths, which account for around 8% of the population, and Protestantism appears to be bucking the national trend, according to the Spanish Evangelical Alliance.
General Secretary of the Alliance, Xesús Manuel Suárez García, told en of how, after being viewed as the “mediating institution between God and human beings” for centuries, the Catholic church’s influence has waned in recent times as it lost its political support and influence, and has seen an “inevitable decline” in the “personal adherence of citizens”. However, he revealed that, in contrast, “faith has been maintained among the Protestant minority, which is growing in number.”
Concerningly, García stated that, while faith-based values are declining in society, the Catholic model of “an institution that decides orthodoxy and persecutes dissidents persists strongly.”
He detailed problems which this presents, saying: “This institutional power has been replaced by dogmatic laicism [strict separation of religion and state] which now imposes its dogmas on society, supported by political power, and persecutes dissidents.
“Examples include indoctrination in schools, the strict relegation of faith to the private sphere, legal regulations that threaten freedom of conscience and expression and conscientious objection, like trans law, ‘anti-conversion’ law or the proposed limitations to conscientious objection.”
