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Religious disaffiliation among the youth

Like previous studies, the 2004 Informe Juventud en España (study on the youth in Spain), carried out by the INJUVE (Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs), has once again revealed that the majority of young people do not practise any religion. The number believers from all the religions put together, is lower than the number of atheists, agnostics, non-believers, those who are non-practising or indifferent. Among those who consider themselves to be believers, a little over 60 % are Roman Catholics, of whom only 14% say that they are practising Catholics.
For both boys and girls, the lower the age, the higher the level of religious practise. The turning point occurs at age 20. However, from this age, a difference also begins to set in between the sexes. It must be noted that this study does not provide data on young people who practise other religions - it merely assumes that they represent about 2.9% of the population under study.
The study also reveals the influence of other factors such as ideology, nationality, gender, level of education and size of area of residence on the extent of religious practise by individuals. The majority of Catholics and non-practising Catholics are centre-right women of Spanish nationality. Left-wing non-practising Catholics are mostly village dwellers with a low level of education.

Source: Informe Juventud en España 2004, INJUVE, Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales, 2005, pp. 533-534. See the study’s findings (in Spanish, Section IV, "Valores, Participación").

D 13 September 2012   

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