Minority religions in Spain - statistics & facts
Due to historical reasons, Spain used to be a much more diverse country in the 15th century than it probably is today, but globalization, immigration, and opening up to other cultures and viewpoints are gradually broadening the Spanish spiritual demography, which was for many years traditionally and primarily Catholic.
And only traditionally, because according to the latest surveys, Spain’s population is considerably shifting to more relaxed spiritual views – 41.5 percent of Spaniards identified as non-religious, whereas about 32 percent stated they believed in their faith in a laxer way and only 22 percent confirmed being highly religious. Although 45 percent of the Spanish population considers religious practices to be important for morality, most tend to skip Mass more often than not.
This scenario, however, looks completely different when it comes to other forms of faith. As of 2023, approximately three percent of the population in Spain stated being believers of a religion other than Catholicism, with Islam and Protestant doctrines having the highest number of adherents in the country. As a matter of fact, the Protestant movement of Evangelicalism accounts for over 55 percent of all places of worship other than the Catholic Church across the country, that is, approximately 4,400 thousand Evangelical churches.
Islam as a minority religion in Spain
Many of those affiliated with a Protestant doctrine were not necessarily born in Spain. In fact, the surge in Protestantism has been largely fueled by inmigration flows from Europe and Latin America. Nevertheless, they are not the only religious community with a large share of foreign-born adherents in the Mediterranean country. With approximately 55 percent of its devotees having a non-Spanish nationality, the Islamic community in Spain mostly originated abroad. Spain and Islam have a very long history, and approximately 2.41 million Muslims have made this country their home. Excluding Spaniards, the largest Muslim group in the country is that of Moroccans, with more than 879,000 thousand devotees as of 2023. The autonomous communities of Catalonia and Andalusia were home to more than one million, making them the Spanish regions with the largest Muslim population.
Religion is still a source of social problems
Despite the emergence of religious diversity, Spain is still far from living in full harmony. Prejudice against religious beliefs continues to incite many to assault or abuse followers of other faiths, with records revealing a peak number of 103 registered hate crimes of this type in 2017. By 2023, this number had fallen to 55, revealing that, even if it is less persistent, religious intolerance is still present in Spain. That year, bias crime triggered by religious motivation was the fifth most common form of discrimination penalized by law in Spain, and nearly 66 percent of all reported cases were completely cleared up.
This scenario, however, looks completely different when it comes to other forms of faith. As of 2023, approximately three percent of the population in Spain stated being believers of a religion other than Catholicism, with Islam and Protestant doctrines having the highest number of adherents in the country. As a matter of fact, the Protestant movement of Evangelicalism accounts for over 55 percent of all places of worship other than the Catholic Church across the country, that is, approximately 4,400 thousand Evangelical churches.
Islam as a minority religion in Spain
Many of those affiliated with a Protestant doctrine were not necessarily born in Spain. In fact, the surge in Protestantism has been largely fueled by inmigration flows from Europe and Latin America. Nevertheless, they are not the only religious community with a large share of foreign-born adherents in the Mediterranean country. With approximately 55 percent of its devotees having a non-Spanish nationality, the Islamic community in Spain mostly originated abroad. Spain and Islam have a very long history, and approximately 2.41 million Muslims have made this country their home. Excluding Spaniards, the largest Muslim group in the country is that of Moroccans, with more than 879,000 thousand devotees as of 2023. The autonomous communities of Catalonia and Andalusia were home to more than one million, making them the Spanish regions with the largest Muslim population.
Religion is still a source of social problems
Despite the emergence of religious diversity, Spain is still far from living in full harmony. Prejudice against religious beliefs continues to incite many to assault or abuse followers of other faiths, with records revealing a peak number of 103 registered hate crimes of this type in 2017. By 2023, this number had fallen to 55, revealing that, even if it is less persistent, religious intolerance is still present in Spain. That year, bias crime triggered by religious motivation was the fifth most common form of discrimination penalized by law in Spain, and nearly 66 percent of all reported cases were completely cleared up.
