we are getting baptized and getting married less and less

In the midst of a discussion about whether or not religiosity is recovering ground in Spain, with Hakuna moving crowdsRosalía wearing nun’s attire and ‘The Sundays’ triumphing at the box officethe Church has found itself in cold water. His 2024 yearbook shows that fewer and fewer people resort to their sacraments. They all fall: baptisms, first communions, confirmations and weddings. Only the anointings of the sick remain more or less stable.

The question is… What does that mean?

What do the figures say? They show a clear decline in the sacraments. This is reflected at least the last yearbook of the Spanish Episcopal Confederation (CEE), presented this week and which includes data for 2024. Throughout that year the Church counted 146,370 baptisms, 154,677 first communions, 103,535 confirmations and 31,462 weddings. They represent, respectively, falls of 3.97%, 4.86%, 3.37% and 6.08% when compared with the data from the 2023 yearbook.

Only anointings of the sick and baptisms among adults give the Catholic Church a break. The former remained practically stable, with 26,013 sacraments dispensed, only 0.41% less than the previous year. As for the latter, they represent the only truly positive indicator for the Church. In 2024, priests officiated 13,323 baptisms for people over seven years of age, significantly above the 11,835 registered a year earlier.

What if you look further? The drop is even more pronounced. Just a decade ago, in 2014, the EEC counted 240,282 baptisms, 244,2525 communions, 116,787 confirmations and 52,495 marriages. Once again, the only sacrament that is growing is that of the anointing of the sick: in 2014, 23,624 were registered, almost 2,500 less than last year. If we look back to 2007, first documented exercise by the Spanish Episcopal Confederation on its website, the setback is greater. For reference, more than twice as many baptisms were carried out that year as in 2024.

And what does the Church say? They relate the decline to the “natural movement of the population” in Spain and the “social and demographic change” that has been recorded for some time. “Last week the INE updated its data. Spain has gained 1.2 million single people in the last three years and only 105,000 married people. In the end this can also, logically, be reflected in the sacraments received in our country”, comments Ester Martínfrom the EEC Transparency Office.

The Confederation of Bishops focuses on another aspect, the “upward trend” of adults who choose to be baptized. “They make a full incorporation into the Church and their degree of commitment and responsibility is assumed to be greater, since it is born from a personal conviction and in a sociocultural context where there is no longer a cultural faith in which all children are baptized,” reflect the general secretary of the organization, Francisco César García.

What is the backdrop? When analyzing CEE data, it is good to handle some keys. For example, the Spanish population is at record levels, with 49.5 million of inhabitants. That was at least the ‘photo’ at the end of the third quarter of the year, when Spain registered an annual increase in population of around 474,400 people. Another key is what this increase is due to, which the INE basically relates to the arrival of immigrants, a phenomenon that coincides with the expansion of evangelism in the country.

Another key is the one that García mentioned: we Spaniards have changed. Have fewer childrenwe become parents much later and in general we also get married less, whether before a Christian altar or in a court.

Although the last INE data show that the married population is still the majority among adults, it has been stagnant for some time. On the contrary, single people are growing (and not a little), now numbering 14.5 million people in our country. In parallel, new trends emerge that, although they are a minority, in a certain way displace the traditional sacraments, such as civil baptisms.

Why is it important? Because of the context. The data from the Episcopal Confederation comes at an interesting time: after the success of Hakuna, ‘If you’re not there’ and ‘Los Domingos’ and with Rosalía dressing as a nun and speaking openly about his spirituality, a question has been raised: Is Spain embracing the Catholic faith again? Is there a change in sensitivity detected in Generation Z? The latest CEE yearbook is not the only report that invites caution.

It was recently disclosed a study from the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation which shows that young people are indeed more spiritual than the average in the country, but not more Christian and they are certainly far from the orthodoxy of Rome. They believe in the existence of the soul, but less than a third (29%) consider themselves Catholic and are particularly open to astrology or clairvoyance.

In June Funcas launched another report which does not invite optimism either: although the majority of Spaniards identify as Catholics (55%), their percentage is far from what they reached in the 70s (90%). Added to this is an increase in agnostics, indifferent and atheists and a clear advance in secularization among young people.

Does the yearbook say anything else? Yes. Beyond the sacraments (vital for their role in the Christian liturgy), the latest data from the EEC leave some positive readings for the Church. For example, the number of practitioners who regularly attend mass remained stable around 8.3 million (0.3% more than in 2023). Regarding the economic section, the faithful contributed about 400 million euros through collections, parish fees… a figure to which is added 326 million collected through the X in the income tax return.

Image | Josh Applegate (Unsplash)

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