Religion In Spain
Roman Catholicism is the largest denomination of Christianity present in Spain by far. According to an October 2011 study by the Spanish Center of Sociological Research about 70.1% of Spaniards self-identify as Catholics, 2.7% other faith, and about 25% identify with no religion. Most Spaniards do not participate regularly in religious worship. This same study shows that of the Spaniards who identify themselves as religious, 56% goes to mass few times a year, 15% go to mass many times a year, 9% some time per month and 16% every Sunday or multiple times per week. Although a majority of Spaniards are Catholics, most, especially those of the younger generation, ignore the Church's conservative moral doctrines on issues such as pre-marital sex, sexual orientation or contraception. The total number of parish priests has shrunk from 24,300 in 1975 to 19,307 in 2005. Nuns also dropped 6.9% to 54,160 in the period 2000-2005.
Famous quotes containing the words religion and/or spain:
“Not thou nor thy religion dost controule,
The amorousnesse of an harmonious Soule,
But thou would’st have that love thy selfe: As thou
Art jealous, Lord, so I am jealous now,
Thou lov’st not, till from loving more, thou free
My soule: Who ever gives, takes libertie:
O, if thou car’st not whom I love
Alas, thou lov’st not mee.”
—John Donne (1572–1631)
“England and France, Spain and Portugal, Gold Coast and Slave Coast, all front on this private sea; but no bark from them has ventured out of sight of land, though it is without doubt the direct way to India.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)