Religions and languages in Spain

Spain is a secular state such that religion in the country has no influence on public administration and vice versa. About 75% of its population consider themselves to be Catholics. So, Spain can be generally considered a Catholic country. About 23% of the total population of the country consider themselves to be non-believers or non-religious people who neither go to church nor observe religious holidays. Only 2% are members of other faiths. The official separation of church from state took place only in 1979. A formal agreement which regulated the relations of religious institutions was signed immediately afterwards with the Vatican.

It is worth noting that despite this, faith has a big impact on the Spanish public. For example, in schools and higher educational institutions, students are required to choose between the subjects; Religion, and Ethics. If the choice falls on the first, then they will be taught the basics of Catholicism. Up until now, about 32% of schools rank themselves in Catholic educational institutions in the country. However, despite the fact that faith is highly appreciated in families and in education, it is difficult to say that the Spaniards are serviceable parishioners of local churches. Apparently, their attitude to such an open demonstration of their religion was influenced by world-famous inquisitions which were cruelly punished for belonging to Christianity.

Spain’s entry into the European Union and various modern Western trends is gradually affecting the overall religious situation in the country. Every year, the percentage of atheist’s is on the increase. The youth refuse to adopt the traditions of religion. In addition, the country is quite liberal about other faiths and many Spaniards even support the idea of ​​same-sex marriage. As for religious holidays, they are loved and valued not only by adherents of Catholicism. Various holy dates have turned into Spanish noisy festivities with songs and dances and each separate settlement has chosen its own patron Saint. An incredibly large-scale holiday is organized yearly in honor of these Saints. As a result of the historic Caliphate, there are a lot of ancient Mosques in Spain, many of which are now empty. However, Mosques in larger cities are still visited by migrants from Algeria and Morocco. In general, there are about one million citizens who profess Islam. Approximately one and a half million people in the country consider themselves Protestants. Spanish gypsies are evangelists. There are however very few Jews in the country. This is so because during the rule of the Inquisition, they were permanently expelled from the territory of modern Spain and now the Jews are not keen on returning. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Spain can rightly be called one of the most multilingual countries in Europe. The dictatorial ways of governing by Francisco Franco, greatly influenced the formation of the state language. The majority of the ethnic population was therefore subjected to immense pressure. Their indigenous language was forbidden, and offenders caught trying to spread the language were put away and subsequently executed. But, despite this, the languages ​​of the ethnic population of Spain still preserved and today they are gaining strength again and actively experiencing a renaissance. The ethnic strata of Spain are Catalans speaking Catalan, Galicians speaking Galician, Basques speaking Basque language, Asturians speaking Asturian language, Occitans speaking Occitan language, and Aragonese speaking Aragonese language. The latter on the list is the only language that is now on the verge of extinction. Catalan is spoken not only by the inhabitants of modern Catalonia, but also by residents of the Balearic Islands.

Castilian is spoken by more than 40 million people and is considered the official language. This language derives its name from the place of its formation; the kingdom of Castile. The official language is widespread majorly in the north and in the center of Spain. Also, there are quite a few different dialects of this language, for example; Murcian, Churro, and Riokh. It is the Castilian language that is employed in all official events; in issuing laws, and teaching in Schools and Institutions of higher education. The second official language is recognized as a minority, which is considered the language of national minorities. However, such a local dialect prevails exclusively in everyday life. All the same, Castilian is used in official documents.