My guess about Spain and Italy is how preposterously Catholic both nations are either prevented many people joining the study or dissuaded the researchers even going.

It is likely that those countries were statisical outliers for that study. Perhaps those countries are more conservative and they did have a long tradition of Christianity. That might be the reason why.

Norway isn't mentioned either and I'm pretty sure that they are in at least the 50% range. The young Spanish people that I know are definitely not religious. I was told by one that religion is a business.

A ray of sunshine on an otherwise gloomy February day. Thanks for sharing.

We were in Italy, France and Holland last September and just from asking and listening to conversations centred around their cathedrals I would agree. Only the older people are still going to mass and church(Holland). Hardly any young. They are very passionate about politics though, but I would hazard a guess that there’s much greater separation of state from religion than here.

Very religious

Very encouraging.
Now, to make a birth control substance you only have to take once a year, that makes you healthier, lose weight, and can easily be made at home with natural herbs.
That would take care of the problem, since most women, if not all, DON'T want to be baby factories.

I live in Spain ( Baleares) and I can assure you that in my part of the country the average mass in the church (right across the street from my house) is attended by mostly older women. Sometimes they drag their husbands along, and, of course a much larger number of people attend mass at traditional holidays, weddings and funerals, but most younger people I know are indifferant to religion. When middle aged people in the Republican dominated regions, like Catalunya, were young, Franco was in power and he gave the Spanish Catholic church a bad name to those citizens.

It is notable that the Catholic Church was on Franco's side during the Spanish Civil War. The Republicans (not the same as American Republicans), killed a few Catholic Priests...but not enough. The fact that the priests supported Franco may be a factor in modern Spanish being less religious...they may have a long memory.

It did not address that fact that the less educated and economically stable a country is the more religious it tends to be. This is also were the populations are growing the most. So yes there will be more religious people on the earth but the percentage of religious people is forcast to generally decline.

I do not think that you would find the level of religious fundamentalism in Europe that you have among American evangelicals and pentacostals.

I am guessing because the report was commissioned by the synod and they know how the data for Italy impact upon their strategy.

Spain is included in the report.

I see it occurring here; the catholic church is consolidating
(and has for years) reasources & REALESTATE.
The ethnic churches are holding thier own or expanding.
I see integration and community support as the reason,
although there is peer and cultural pressure. As politicians
like Mike Pence tout religious FREEDOM but spew hypocritical
diatribe against Muslim and other ethnic groups I see this as a lose/ lose proposition for society as a whole. What choice
is there for our "new" american folks? I trust in thier
intelligence to overcome these heavily promoted impediments
to thier progress
Thanks

I think these projections just take current populations and project from birthrate to give a 'future' figure. That would be decidedly unhistorical. There are still plenty of countries where it is virtually impossible to come out as non-religious so I think there is a great under-counting of the irreligious.

This study is borne out by observation and knowledge of life in the UK and Ireland. There are a number of churches closed and either lying empty or being turned into restaurants or art galleries. Shopping and leisure centres are busier on Sundays than churches, and those few people who do attend church regularly are elderly. Ireland is mentioned as still having high church attendance amongst the young, however I have first hand knowledge that the young Catholics I know who live here only go to mass to please their parents and after they are dead I doubt if they’ll bother. I know one young woman who pretends to go to mass on Sunday morning, but in fact goes to McDonalds and has a McMuffin & coffee and reads the Sunday papers. She lives at home with her father who is housebound and she can’t bring herself to tell him she’s lost her faith.

Was raised up in Florence.. don’t really recall anyone under the age of 25-30 ever stepping inside any churches. 80% tourists

If you go to Italy or Spain and visit the churches you will see that they are mainly attended by the very old and even then they are not full.

I live in Spain and have family in Northern Italy. Religion is associated with the old. The young have far better things to do with their spare time.

Religion has been losing importance through the years, especially in cities. Of course there are still loads of religious people but the tendency is for religion to lose ground.