17 October 2024
Bilbao Campus
More than a third of the Basque population, 35.5%, does not identify with any religion, according to the latest study on religious diversity carried out by Ikuspegi - Basque Immigration Observatory, in collaboration with the Institute of Human Rights of the University of Deusto. They are atheists, agnostics or non-believers. In addition, and despite remaining in the majority, the study detected a lower identification with the Catholic faith, while other religions suffer small increases.
If we compare the data with those of 1997, the Catholic faith has dropped 32.4 points and the other religions have risen 4.8 points. “This is a phenomenon that is repeated across European democracies and reflects the plurality and different identities within our society,” said the Minister for Welfare, Youth and the Demographic Challenge.
Specifically, the estimate of the weight of the different religions in the Basque Country indicates that 57.2% of the population is Catholic, almost six out of every ten, while 7.3% adhere to minority religions. The Basque Country is therefore characterized as a predominantly Catholic society where the weight of other religions continues to be notably lower.
Among non-Catholic denominations, Islam is the most numerous, accounting for 4% of the population residing in the Basque Country, followed by Evangelicals, at 1.1%, and Orthodox, at 1.0%. This is due, in part, to the regulatory recognition of freedom of religion or worship as a fundamental right and the presence of religious diversity (some already rooted in the territory and others new) within the context of the Spanish State and, on the other hand, to the arrival of migrants with religious traditions other than Catholicism.
Migrant population and religion
Among the migrant population, the majority religion is also Catholic (42.9%), although other religions such as Muslim (17.9%) or Evangelical or Protestant (9.8%) have a greater weight among the population arriving in the Basque Country than among the general population.
Worship centers
Churches, communities and religious entities of minority confessions do not have a very large presence in terms of numbers, although their roots in the Basque Country are well established. The most numerous centers of worship of minority religious affiliations are, firstly, Evangelical churches, secondly, mosques, and thirdly, the Kingdom Halls of Jehovah's Witnesses.
In terms of quality, it should be noted that many of the places of worship of minority religious communities would need some type of improvement or adaptation for the proper performance of the activities carried out in them. In addition, obtaining permits for the use of public spaces or municipal premises is very complicated and some religious entities perceive unequal treatment, especially when compared to other non-religious entities or associations.
Minority denominations
As for the minority denominations, their followers state that they face situations of indifference towards their beliefs and their very presence by Basque society as a whole, in the best of cases, or a clear and outright rejection of their religion. In addition, they claim that the image that the general population has of them is often stereotyped and notoriously far from reality. In this sense, they consider that they cannot exercise their fundamental right to freedom of religion and that there is still a long way to go before there is full knowledge and recognition of the reality of religious minorities in the Basque Country.
But progress is also perceived to have been made. The various studies on religious diversity carried out since 2009 under the impulse of the Basque Government are contributing to awareness and recognition of this diversity. Likewise, action plans such as the Coexistence Plan 2017-2020 and the Udaberri 2024 Plan are helping to place religious diversity on the Basque political agenda.
Bilbao Diversity Board
At the local level, it is worth highlighting the implementation of a Religious Diversity Board by the Bilbao City Council, active since 2017, and replicated in 2021 in Vitoria-Gasteiz; the ephemeral multi-confessional worship center in Donostia/San Sebastián, and a burial space for the Muslim population in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Although it did not exist at the time of the study, the city council of Bilbao also has a burial site for the Muslim population.
Zabaldu #2
With the aim of characterizing the reality of religious diversity in the Basque Country, Ikuspegi, in collaboration with the Institute of Human Rights of the University of Deusto, has compiled the new monograph Zabaldu #2, 'Religious diversity in the Basque Autonomous Community', which provides quantitative data on religious self-identification, the estimated weight of the various religions and data on places of worship and their distribution throughout the Basque territory. Likewise, they have updated the Map of religions in the Basque Country 2024 and provided qualitative assessment on the management of religious diversity.
Check out the map here:
Basque: https://mre-2024.netlify.app/eu
Spanish: https://mre-2024.netlify.app/es
