The Secularization of Spanish Society: Change in Religious Practice

Abstract

This paper offers an empirical analysis of one of the fundamental dimensions of religious change in Spain in recent years: religious practice. The specification of the secularization thesis foresees, in the case of societies with widespread religious homogeneity and with a high level of interdependence between Church and State, and in particular for Catholic societies such as Spain, a relevant drop in the levels of religious affiliation and practice as social, economic, cultural, and political modernization processes advance. Empirical evidence and analysis are provided in order to show the weight of different variables on religious change and the robustness of the secularization process of Spaniards' religiosity.