Why Spain Is Not As Christian As You Think

What do you think of when you think of Spain? If you’re a fan of architecture, then you probably think of Gaudí whose style inspired by nature is iconic in Barcelona. Just look at this cathedral, El Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia. That’s a long name, but it also took a really long time to build. Work on this cathedral, the tallest religious building in the world began in 1882, and they still haven’t finished. It’s taking more time to build than the pyramids and it should be done by 2033. If you’re a sports fan, though, you probably think of something else.

Camp Nou is home to perhaps one of the most popular football teams in the world, FC Barcelona. And in the last couple of decades that popularity is thanks to one player whose name is known around the world, Messi. Today he plays for Inter Miami in the US, but this is where Messi captivated the world’s attention and admiration. It’s going to be hard not to make this video more about Messi. He’s not even Spanish, but I’m going to try.

This stadium is the second largest in the world, and it was visited by millions last year, and it’s currently being renovated to make room for more people. But it’s not just been used for sporting events. Back in 1982, Pope John Paul II actually held mass here for more than 120,000 people, which brings us to why we’re here.

When the Apostle Paul thought of Spain, he thought of his call to go where no one had gone before to preach the name of Jesus. And if you take a look around, you might think the mission was accomplished. But even though Christianity had been present in Spain for 2000 years, Catholicism is rapidly declining. Less than a third of Catholics say they actually practice it. Many parishes are struggling to find priests to lead them, and today people are 10 times more likely to step in a football stadium than in a church.

But that’s not necessarily the case for the Protestant Church. Immigration and church planting movements are slowly changing the story, and some say that for the first time ever, Spain might be 2% evangelical. But is that enough? I want to know why some places like Spain that have been green for centuries start turning yellow. And is there any possibility that they could become red again?

España de Mi Corazón

You might think of Spain as the most Catholic country in the world, but do people actually believe in it?

The percentage of people in Spain that identify as non-religious has shifted from 9% to 22%. In major cities like Barcelona, less than 35% of people consider themselves religious, and to make matters worse, around 64% of Gen Z claim to be agnostic or atheist. At the same time, the Muslim population has increased significantly. Moroccan immigrants alone have grown to almost a million in the last 20 years.

So how did it all come to this? Let’s rewind. España or the Kingdom of Spain is one of the most famous, most visited, and most storied countries in the world. It’s the land of Seneca and Trajan, Picasso and Dalí, Nadal and Fernando Alonso. But if you’re familiar with the New Testament, you might know it as the furthest place Paul hoped to reach with the Gospel.

Many believe Paul did eventually make it to Spain, or as it was known then Hispania, the province furthest to the east of the Roman Empire. But after the fall of Rome, Spain had to fight off other empires like the Byzantines and the Visigoths until they faced a new opponent like no other, the army of Muhammad.

At the start of the eighth century, Arabic and Berber troops crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and conquered the Iberian Peninsula. For the next eight centuries most of the lands of Spain would be under Muslim rule.

We’re in Sevilla, one of the oldest cities in Spain and its walls tell the story of foreign invaders. Even its name comes from the Arabic Ixbilia named by the Moors in 712. The bell tower of this cathedral La Giralda was actually originally a mosque, and it was built by the same dynasty that built the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. This is all part of what makes Spain’s history and culture so fascinating. Even though it’s in Western Europe, its food, its architecture, and even language have an undeniable Arabic influence to it.

I’ve spoken Spanish my whole life and it’s kind of crazy to think how many Spanish words come from Arabic influence. Like I’ve said ojalá my whole life. It just means let’s hope or let’s wish something happens. But literally that means if “Allah wills it”, like if God permits it. And there’s so many more words like that. I think of azúcar, aceite, barrio, zanahoria, like these are all regular words in Spanish that have Arabic influence. And it’s crazy to think that a language that I’m speaking thousands of miles away in Latin America was influenced directly by what happened right here centuries ago.

The Unbearable Lightness of (Not) Being (Evangelical in Spain)

So how did Spain regain control of the Iberian Peninsula? Like in most cases, it took a war. La Reconquista holds the record for the longest war in history, and it was launched with the promise of regaining Christian land from the Muslims. Fernando and Isabella officially recognized as the Catholic monarchs of Spain made it their life’s mission to unite the kingdom under their rule.

At the turn of the 15th century, they launched a brutal inquisition that would kill anyone who wouldn’t fall in line. Their first target was Jews and any leftover Muslims, even those who would convert, conversos, would often be tortured and sentenced to death without trial. Allegiance to Catholicism was by force, and submission was absolute.

When word reached Spain of Luther, the reformer and his 95 theses, they quickly adapted the inquisition to target any form of dissension, which resulted in more than 150,000 dead and made it almost impossible for Protestantism to grow here. The crown made sure that whatever else was happening in Europe, it wouldn’t happen in Spain. As a Spanish journalist, José Pérez said, Spain was the only European monarchy that had a national institution dedicated to eradicating heresy since 1478.

And you might be thinking, “Well, that sounds like everything back then was really bad. Good thing we’re not there anymore.” And you’d be right. But ask any pastor in Spain today and they’ll tell you it’s not all in the past.

Just a generation ago, Generalísimo Francisco Franco persecuted more than 30,000 Spanish Protestants, forcing hundreds of pastors to leave the country. The regime branded itself as National Catholicism and it was bad. Non-Catholic versions of the Bible were confiscated. Protestant schools were closed. Pastors faced legal discrimination and were banned from public places of worship.

This is Dr. Máximo Álvarez. He’s a missiologist and theologian. He’s spent the last two decades investigating the state of the Protestant Church here in Spain.

Máximo Álvarez: The Spaniards in our doctoral research told me that they don’t need conversion. That God doesn’t ask for it. Don’t be mistaken. One thing is the appreciation of popular religiosity, and another is the understanding of what conversion to Christ means. They say that having been baptized as children, they have everything they need. They don’t need anything more, converting is like joining a cult. Conversion is only for people who are socially disoriented. So, it’s a society indifferent to biblical Christianity. 

Today, on any given Sunday, if you go to one of the more than 700 Protestant churches here in Madrid, there will probably be more people in church than ever before, just not the locals.

Máximo Álvarez: Some will tell me, “Hey, but we are reading about many churches in Spain that have 100, 200, and 500 people.” 75% of them are Latin Americans. They haven’t gained 500 Spaniards in five years, and in seven years of growth here, the growth is happening with immigrants, but they’re not reaching the Spaniards. 

Up & Up

In 2000, Spain had less than 500,000 legally registered migrants. Today that number is closer to 8 million. Around 15% of the current Spanish population is immigrant and has completely transformed the nation. Many are coming from Morocco and Romania, and the differences in languages and customs means it’ll take a generation or two before they integrate into the Spanish culture at large.

But a significant influx of migrants are also coming from Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and other places in Latin America. They speak Español and they have a long connected history with Spain. They’re not just showing up for work, though. They’re showing up at church.

Alberto Puente: Spain has always been talked about as the graveyard of missionaries. And then early 2000s, we get this massive wave of immigration from Latin America, and all of a sudden the population of evangelicals has doubled.

This is Alberto Puente. He is a pastor in Sevilla and is working to see the gospel go deep, not just in Spain, but out from Spain to the rest of the world. The church in Spain is growing like never before. A recent census says Protestants are hovering around 2% of the total population, and that’s amazing when you consider that in 1998, that number was about 0.2%.

Alberto Puente: In the early 1990s, very few people knew what an evangelical was. I became an evangelical Christian. It was, what is that? People had not heard of that. So the Latin American immigration has been super helpful encouraging for churches here.

As encouraging as these statistics are, it’s important to note that growth by migration numbers doesn’t always mean conversion. A lot of Christians from Latin America are moving in and gathering as local churches, but there’s a lot of work still to be done in their local communities, and that reflects a more pressing issue.

Alberto Puente: The greatest need right now in Spain is actually pioneering work in towns and villages of Spain that have never had any evangelical presence. All provincial capitals have evangelical churches. The hometown of my mother, there’s 15,000 people, and there’s never been an evangelical church in that town in its history.

Most of the new churches that are being planted or seeing this growth are in city centers like Barcelona, Sevilla, and Madrid. But if you venture into the heartland of the country, you’ll be met by a population with minimal foreign influence and a lack of religious diversity.

For those living in these smaller towns, the cathedral and the town square remains the sole religious landmark, and it’s reported that 92% of these towns have little to no evangelical presence. To put it simply, for millions of Spaniards there’s absolutely no evangelical witness.

Conclusion

Hope is not lost here. Even after facing intense persecution and an actual inquisition, the evangelical church is growing in Spain, and many believe that the best days for gospel ministry in Spain are just around the corner. The numbers may still be small, but we’re talking more than decimal points now, and that makes me wonder what opportunities and challenges will come next.

As I talk to pastors and leaders here, they all mentioned their concern for the secularization and general apathy towards religion in Spain.

Alberto Puente: We have a big enough church in Spain now that why not think about sending them. There are believers that are like, “Hey, I have this interest, this burden for Moroccans, Algerians.” I would love to see some of the guys we’re training here, go to this North African city and support the work there by pastoring the Latinos. And those Latinos in North Africa are doing evangelism at their work. They’re bringing in Muslims to their churches.

If one thing in scripture is clear, it’s that the gospel is not meant to stay in one place for one people group or culture. It crosses borders and languages and traditions, and Spain has a unique opportunity to carry this mission out, starting with those right next door.

Our Next Episode: Morocco

As I’ve traveled throughout the Arab world, there’s one comment I’ve heard over and over again from the locals, “We are not Arab.” It can be tempting to lump people groups together, but the truth is, while having been conquered by the Arabs, these regions tell a deeper story, and nowhere is this more true than Morocco.

For thousands of years, Morocco has been a crossroads for conquerors, traders and immigrants. But when we turn the pages back, we’ll find that it’s also no stranger to Christianity. So is there any hope, one of the most significant chokeholds for the gospel in Northern Africa, to find Jesus again?