Catalonia poll suggests young adults are bucking secular trend
The survey found a surprising openness to Catholicism among 18- to 24-year-olds
Young people aged 18 to 24 in the Spanish region of Catalonia are more likely to identify as Catholics than those aged 25 to 34, according to new research by a government public opinion research agency.
The Center for Opinion Studies, which conducts polls on behalf of the Government of Catalonia, found that 40.9% of surveyed residents aged 18 to 24 identified as Catholic, compared to only 34.6% of those aged 25 to 34.
The survey, carried out in May and June and based on 2,000 face-to-face interviews, suggests a surprising openness to Catholicism among young adults in what is traditionally considered one of Spain’s most secular regions.
Catalonia, which has a population of 8 million people and is roughly the size of the U.S. state of Maryland, is one of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities. It is located in the northeastern part of the country, next to Spain’s border with France.
One of the reasons it is considered a more secular region is that Catalonia strongly opposed General Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975 and closely identified himself with the Catholic Church. Since the 19th century, Catalonia has been a heavily industrialized region with strong left-wing labor movements. The region has also seen significant international immigration since the late 1990s.
The study also found that 18- to 24-year-olds were more likely to express a high degree of trust in the Church than any age group except the over 65s.
The Religión en Libertad website noted that 12.3% of adults aged 18 to 24 rated their level of trust in the Church as seven or higher out of 10. This compared favorably with those aged 25 to 34 at 8.1%, those aged 35 to 49 at 8.2%, and those aged 50 to 64 at 9.2%. Only people aged 65 and over had a larger proportion of people showing high trust in the Church, at 14.4%.
The survey concluded that out of the total population, 53.1% of Catalonia’s residents identify as Catholic, with 22.3% identifying as atheists and 16.5% as agnostics.
Religión en Libertad said the finding suggested that the decline of Catholicism in Catalonia had slowed, but not stopped.
It pointed to previous figures for the percentage of Catholics in Catalonia issued by the Center for Opinion Studies. The Center concluded that 55.7% of the population identified as Catholic in 2015, 54.5% in 2019, 56.6% in 2020, and 53.4% in 2025.
But Religión en Libertad noted that the 2026 survey could not be compared directly to the previous surveys because the sample populations differed. The latest survey only interviewed adult Spanish nationals resident in Catalonia, while the older studies interviewed all residents of Catalonia aged 16 and over.
The Catalonia survey’s findings echo those of a national poll published in April by the SM Foundation, which was established by the Marianists religious order.
The SM Foundation report concluded that the proportion of Spanish people aged 15 to 29 who identify as Catholic rose from 31.6% in 2020 to 45% in 2025.
In the past year, Spanish and international media have reported extensively on anecdotal evidence of a rise in identification with Catholicism among young people.
Evidence cited has included Hakuna Group Music, a Catholic youth music group, selling out major venues.
Media have also pointed to the global success of the singer-songwriter Rosalía’s album “Lux,” inspired by the lives of female saints, and the commercial success in Spain of the film “Los Domingos” (Sundays), which depicts a 17-year-old girl considering whether to enter a cloistered convent. The album and film inspired a phenomenon that the media dubbed “nunmania.”
The media have also highlighted a rise in adult baptisms, which reportedly increased from 11,835 in 2023 to 13,323 in 2024, a year-on-year rise of 12.57%.
They have also pointed to the popularity of Catholic youth movements such as Hakuna, linked with the music group, and Effetá.
Young people played a prominent role in Pope Leo XIV’s June 6-12 visit to Spain. More than 600,000 people attended a June 6 youth prayer vigil in Madrid’s Plaza de Lima.
In his address, Pope Leo said: “Seeing you, dear young people, filled with this enthusiasm that comes from faith, I have high hopes for your ability to bear witness to Christ in the world — including the realm of digital media — and to communicate the values and beauty of the Gospel.”