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Religious events

Pilgrimages, Processions and Devotions

According to the study carried out by the Sociological Research Centre (Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas) in January 2002 on the religious beliefs and attitudes of Spaniards, the majority (...)

According to the study carried out by the Sociological Research Centre (Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas) in January 2002 on the religious beliefs and attitudes of Spaniards, the majority of Spaniards define themselves as non-practicing Catholics, since only 19.5% of the 79.1% that declared themselves Catholic said they went to church on a weekly basis, while 61.1% affirm that they do not participate in the activities and organisations of the community.
With regards to the indicators of popular religiosity, (pilgrimages, processions, devotions), the CIS’s figures reveal a weak participation index, since 56.1% of those questioned say they never take part in pilgrimages, 26.1% do so occasionally and 17.1% take part regularly. As for processions, 42% of the population says it never participates, 31.8% participates occasionally and 25.9% participates regularly. Moreover, 61.9% of people questioned said they have no devotion while 37.2% said they had a very strong form of devotion, 54.4% to the Virgin, 20.1% to a saint and 19.3% to Christ.

Source : CIS, Actitudes y creencias religiosas en la sociedad española, estudio n° 2443, enero 2002.

D 13 September 2012    AIrene González González

Religious feasts

The calendar of public holidays reflects both the historical influence exerted by the Catholic Church in Spanish society and the fact that the majority of the population belongs to this faith. (...)

The calendar of public holidays reflects both the historical influence exerted by the Catholic Church in Spanish society and the fact that the majority of the population belongs to this faith. Article 37.2 of Spain’s Labour Code (Estatuto de Trabajadores) states that public holidays, which are paid and can not be made up, shall not exceed the number of fourteen, and, despite the decrease, over the last several decades, in religious festivities, religious holidays remain predominant compared to non-religious ones.

Religious Public HolidaysNon-religious Public Holidays
All Saint’s Day (1 November)
The Immaculate Conception (8 December)
Christmas (25 December)
Epiphany (6 January)
Good Friday
Easter Sunday
The Feast of the Assumption (15 August)
2 local holidays (linked to the celebration of patron saints, honouring a saint, the Virgin or Christ)
National Holiday (12 October)
Constitution Day (6 December)
New Year’s Day (1 January)
Labour Day (1 May)
Other regional holidays (established by each Autonomous Community)

The Agreements of Cooperation signed by the Sate in 1992 with the Islamic Commission of Spain, Comisión Islámica de España (CIE), the Federation of the Jewish Communities of Spain (FCIE), and the Federation of Evangelical Religious Groups of Spain (FEREDE), stipulated that the holidays and religious commemorations of these denominations could be substituted for those established in the general regime of the Labour Code, in article 37.2, with the same characteristics of days that are paid and cannot be made up, as long as there is an agreement between the employee and the company. The following list was established.

Muslim HolidaysJewish Holidays
Al Hijrah (New Year)
Ashura
Milad-e Nabi (Birthday of the Prophet)
Lailat al-Isra wa al-Mi’raj (The Night of the Journey and the Ascension of the Prophet)
Eid-al-Fitr (Festival of Fast-Breaking for Ramadan)
Eid al Adha (celebrates the sacrifice made by the prophet Abraham)
Rosh Hashanah 1st and 2nd day
Yom Kippur
Succoth 1st, 2nd, 7th and 8th day
Passover 1st, 2nd, 7th and 8th day
Shavuot 1st, 2nd, 7th and 8th day

D 13 September 2012    AIrene González González

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