Leaving Religion in Spain
Religious context: Historically Catholic and rapidly secularizing — "no religion" ~38% and rising fast; Catholic identification ~58% but practicing share much smaller; small Muslim minority (~4%) mostly Moroccan-origin.
Personal advice, not therapy. Email is free.
The Shape of Leaving in Spain
Spain is religiously mixed and largely secular as a country. The dominant religious context is: Historically Catholic and rapidly secularizing — "no religion" ~38% and rising fast; Catholic identification ~58% but practicing share much smaller; small Muslim minority (~4%) mostly Moroccan-origin.
Spain is largely secular as a national culture, and the deconstructions happening here are concentrated in specific sub-communities rather than the country as a whole. Pick the pillar page that fits the specific tradition you grew up in — Catholic, evangelical, Pentecostal, JW, Orthodox Jewish, or Muslim — the broader country context is comparatively forgiving.
Leaving in Spain mostly costs you on a family scale rather than a community or legal scale. The conversations are real and sometimes painful, but the wider society is not configured to punish unbelief.
Pillar Pages for Spain
Which tradition you came out of matters more than what country you are in. These pillar pages are written specifically for the religious traditions most present in Spain.
Leaving the Catholic Church
For ex-Catholics, lapsed Catholics, and people walking away from the church they were raised in. The guilt machinery, the family Mass, the saints you still half-believe in, and what comes next.
Leaving Evangelical Christianity
For people deconstructing from American evangelical Christianity, non-denominational megachurches, Southern Baptist, and conservative Protestant traditions. Honest writing about losing your faith, your tribe, and the certainty you used to have.
Leaving Islam
For ex-Muslims who left or are leaving Islam — including those who cannot say so out loud yet because of family, community, or country. Honest writing on apostasy, secrecy, and rebuilding a life when the cost is high.
Topics Most Relevant in Spain
The texture of the family rupture, the guilt, and the rebuild varies by country. These after-leaving pages tend to be the most useful for people from Spain.
Holidays in your old religion
For people who left their religion and now have to navigate Christmas, Easter, Ramadan, Passover, or other holidays inside a family that still observes them. How to be honest without blowing up the family dinner.
The guilt that does not switch off
For people who left their religion and still feel guilty for things that used to be sins. Why the guilt persists, what it actually is, and what reliably helps it loosen.
When the family stops calling
For people whose family has cut off contact, formally or quietly, after they left their religion. The grief, the confusion, and what to do when the people who said they loved you stop showing up.
Cities in Spain
450 cities in Spain. The texture of leaving is often more local than national \u2014 leaving Catholicism in Salt Lake City is not the same as leaving the LDS Church in Salt Lake City, and city-level context matters.
Madrid
3.3M
Barcelona
1.6M
Valencia
814K
Sevilla
703K
Zaragoza
674K
Málaga
568K
Murcia
437K
Palma
401K
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
382K
Bilbao
355K
Alicante
335K
Córdoba
328K
Valladolid
318K
Vigo
297K
Gijón
278K
Eixample
266K
L'Hospitalet de Llobregat
257K
Latina
257K
Carabanchel
254K
A Coruña
246K
Puente de Vallecas
244K
Sant Martí
236K
Gasteiz / Vitoria
236K
Granada
234K
Elche
230K
Ciudad Lineal
228K
Oviedo
224K
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
222K
Fuencarral-El Pardo
220K
Badalona
220K
Cartagena
212K
Terrassa
211K
Jerez de la Frontera
208K
Sabadell
206K
Móstoles
206K
Alcalá de Henares
205K
Pamplona
198K
Fuenlabrada
198K
Almería
189K
Leganés
186K
Donostia / San Sebastián
185K
Sants-Montjuïc
183K
Santander
183K
Castelló de la Plana
180K
Burgos
179K
Albacete
170K
Horta-Guinardó
168K
Alcorcón
168K
Getafe
167K
Nou Barris
166K
Hortaleza
162K
San Blas-Canillejas
157K
Salamanca
156K
Tetuán de las Victorias
155K
Logroño
152K
La Laguna
151K
City Center
150K
Huelva
149K
Arganzuela
149K
Badajoz
148K
From Spain? Tell Me What You Grew Up In.
What you were raised on. What started cracking. Where you are now. Be as specific as you can. I read every message myself and reply within a day or two.
Personal advice, not therapy. Email is free.