Religion in Catalonia

Religion in Catalonia is diversified. Since the Expulsion of the Jews and the Moriscos in the late 15th and early 17th centuries respectively, virtually all the population was Christian, specifically Catholic, but since the 1980s there has been a trend of rapid decline of Christianity, also driven since the 1980s by the religious authorities' association with Francoist Spain. Nevertheless, according to the most recent study sponsored by the government of Catalonia, as of 2016, 61.9% of the Catalans identify as Christians, up from 56.5% in 2014, of whom 58.0% Catholics, 3.0% Protestants and Evangelicals, 0.9% Orthodox Christians and 0.6% Jehovah's Witnesses. At the same time, 16.0% of the population identify as atheists, 11.9% as agnostics, 4.8% as Muslims, 1.3% as Buddhists, and a further 2.4% as being of other religions.

Demographics

Religions

Baháʼí Faith

The Baháʼí Faith has nearly one thousand members and nine centres in Catalonia as of 2014. The first Baháʼí group in Catalonia was established in Barcelona in 1949, while the first formal centre was inaugurated in Terrassa, in the Vallès Occidental, in 1962. The Vallès Occidental is still the region where most of the Catalan Baháʼís reside, and where six out of the nine Baháʼí centres are situated. Most Baháʼís are ethnic Catalan converts, while a small minority are immigrants of Iranian or other origins.

Buddhism

1.3% of the Catalans identify as Buddhists as of 2016. Buddhism has 68 temples in Catalonia as of the same year, holding their services in Catalan, Spanish, Chinese and Tibetan language, reflecting the ethnic origins of the Buddhist community.