Más ateos que católicos practicantes: el nuevo mapa religioso de España

Atheists outnumber practicing Catholics in Spain, according to the September 2026 barometer from the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS). The survey of 4,042 people found that 17.1% declare themselves atheist, while 15.9% define themselves as practicing Catholic.

Catholics make up 54.4% of those surveyed when combining practicing and non-practicing members, as 38.5% identify as non-practicing Catholic. Other groups include agnostics at 12.2%, indifferent or non-believers at 11.3%, and believers of other religions at 3.2%.

The CIS reached these figures by asking participants to self-identify as practicing Catholic, non-practicing Catholic, believer of another religion, agnostic, indifferent or non-believer, or atheist. The survey did not use a prior criterion, such as Mass attendance, to decide who belongs to the practicing Catholic category.