MadridSpain

Madrid has gone through Spain’s rapid secularization in the most visible way of any Spanish city. Sunday Mass attendance has collapsed especially among under-30s, the public square has shifted away from Catholic-flavored politics in many ways, and "no religion" is now the largest single category in surveys of younger Madrileños. The leaving experience here is mostly cultural: untangling family rituals (first communion, Holy Week, the church wedding) from a doctrinal commitment most readers no longer hold.

The rebuild is possible, even when it does not feel that way. Elder X works with people leaving every religious tradition, from cities all over the world. If you are in Madrid and wondering whether anyone gets it — someone does. Write. The first email is just you telling your story in your own words.