A generation returns? New data suggest a surprising revival of Catholic identity among Spanish youth A generation returns? New data suggest a surprising revival of Catholic identity among Spanish youth

At a time when secularization has long been treated as an irreversible trend in Western Europe, new data indicate that a significant segment of Spanish youth may be rediscovering religious identity...

Preliminary findings from the forthcoming “Spanish Youth Report 2026,” produced by the SM Foundation and based on data collected in 2025, suggest that 45 percent of young people in Spain identify as Catholic. The figure marks a notable increase from 31.6 percent in 2020...

Several dynamics appear to be at work. One is demographic: religious families... tend to have higher birth rates and transmit faith more consistently. Immigration also plays a role, bringing younger and often more religious populations into Spain’s social fabric...

Yet these structural explanations only go so far. Equally significant is the cultural climate in which this generation has come of age. The pandemic of 2020, followed by economic uncertainty, precarious employment, and difficulty accessing housing, has contributed to a broader sense of instability...

Digital culture, often blamed for secularization, has paradoxically become an instrument of religious transmission...

In a world saturated with screens, the tangible elements of the faith—liturgy, sacraments, pilgrimage, communal worship—acquire renewed significance. The insistence on physical presence, particularly in the Eucharist, offers a counterpoint to the disembodied nature of digital life.

Youth groups, movements, and parish communities provide not only spiritual formation but also networks of friendship and support. The appeal is not purely doctrinal; it is relational.

There is also a paradoxical attraction in the countercultural character of Catholicism. For some young people, embracing a faith that is often marginalized in public discourse becomes a way of asserting identity and resisting prevailing norms

At the same time, caution is warranted. The data do not necessarily indicate a uniform revival across all segments of youth, nor do they guarantee long-term retention...

Hopefully soon to be reflected in its politics...

Immigration...bringing younger and often more religious populations into Spain’s social fabric. (People normally associate Europe purely with migration from Muslim countries, but Latin America -- which already has a shared cultural heritage with Spain -- represents the Catholic dimension.

Spanish anti-semitism has to be understood in the nature of their history.

Jews in Spain helped the Arabs when they conquered spain in 710-711 AD. Jewish communities provided vital local intelligence regarding Visigothic troop movements and terrain.

As the Arab-Berber armies moved rapidly across the peninsula, they didn't have enough men to leave behind large occupations. According to historical accounts (like those of Al-Maqqari), after a city was captured—such as Córdoba, Seville, or Toledo—the conquerors would entrust the defense of the city to the local Jews while the main army continued its advance.

There are persistent historical traditions (though debated in their exact scale) that Jews in certain cities, like Toledo (the Visigothic capital), actively helped the invaders gain entry to the city to end Visigothic rule.

Jews under the Ummayyad Caliphate in Iberia

Under the Umayyad Caliphate, Jews were classified as Dhimmi ("protected people"). While they paid a tax (jizya), they enjoyed a level of autonomy and safety they hadn't seen in centuries. They "helped" the Arab rule by becoming the administrative backbone of the state -- very visible to the ruled over Christians

Because Jews were often multilingual (speaking Arabic, Hebrew, and Romance dialects), they served as the perfect diplomats. Hasdai ibn Shaprut, for example, was a Jewish physician who became a top advisor to Caliph Abd al-Rahman III, handling foreign policy and trade.

Jewish merchants (the Radhanites) managed trade routes connecting Al-Andalus to the rest of the Mediterranean and the East, bringing immense wealth to the Caliphate.

During the centuries-long wars between the Christian North and the Muslim South, the Jewish position became increasingly precarious—they were the "middlemen" in a tug-of-war. Jews were often granted "Fuero" (legal charters) by Christian kings that protected their rights to encourage them to stay and help rebuild the economy. They served as tax collectors and "Almojarifes" (ministers of finance) for Christian kings. -- this is key - people don't like tax collectors

Now, none of this is justification, but these are the reasons that if you were Spanish and you read this, you would be a bit suspicious, wouldn't you?

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