In Depth:  Spain

Emily Pollok

A Christian camp located in the region of Madrid, where officials say the wildfires raging this summer are the worst they’ve experienced, is still standing.

Pinos Reales, part of Evangelismo en Acción (Evangelism in Action), is a Christian camp and retreat centre which was established in 1974. However, situated 70km from Madrid, the ministry has been facing the possibility of destruction with devastating wildfires spreading across Spain and other parts of Europe this summer.

Luke Randall

The presence of religion in Spain is in decline, with almost half of the nation’s population identifying as non-religious, according to a new study.

Just 54% of those surveyed for the Barometer on Religion and Beliefs in Spain (BREC) 2025, viewed themselves as religious, while 42% said otherwise, highlighting a national move towards secularism.

Luke Randall

Evangelical venues account for more than half of Spain’s non-Catholic worship places, ahead of 16 other minority religious groups, and more than double that of Islam, which was its closest challenger.

New data has revealed that of the 8,140 non-Catholic worship places, 4,572 are evangelical, with particularly strong representation present in Catalonia, Madrid and Andalusia, according to Evangelical Focus.

Luke Randall

The number of evangelical worship places in Catalonia has increased by 100 in four years, making it the religious tradition which has experienced the “most significant growth” during the last 20 years.

There were 889 evangelical worship places as of 2024, 100 more than in 2020, which continues a steady pattern of growth which began in the late 19th century, mostly due to Pentecostal churches, according to the Religious Map of Catalonia.

Luke Randall

The Spanish Evangelical Alliance (AEE) has claimed that new proposals to punish conversion therapy practices with stricter sanctions, including jail terms, are akin to the “anti-conversion laws of totalitarian regimes”.

Spain’s Social Democratic Party have proposed that conversion therapy practices should be included within the Spanish Penal Code. This would see anyone who engages in any form of coercive procedure to “modify, repress, eliminate or deny” someone’s sexual orientation, identity or expression face the possibility of jail terms of six months to two years, according to Evangelical Focus.

Luke Randall

Members of Iglesia de Jesuscristo (which essentially means Christchurch) have been contributing to the relief effort in Valencia, following the disastrous flooding recently seen in the city.

Over 200 people have died after the Eastern Spanish city and its surrounding area was hammered with a year’s worth of rain fall in just eight hours. Julian Milson (pictured with his wife Nicky), who works with Crosslinks, revealed that church members from the Spanish Reformed episcopal congregation have gone with thousands of others into affected areas by bus to assist with the humanitarian effort and cleanup. Milson said that volunteers have been ‘put to good use’, but that the organisation of assistance on the ground has been ‘patchy’.

The Spanish Government has approved a proposed change to the law which is likely to mean no medical or legal report will be needed to process a sex change.

The preliminary draft law approved by the Spanish Cabinet will soon be discussed in the national Parliament and is widely expected to become law.