Who do Catholics (and ultra-Catholics) vote for in Catalonia?
Voters who declare themselves practicing Christianity are concentrated in the PP, while Vox also has penetration in other branches of Christianity.
BarcelonaDespite the secularization process experienced in Western democracies, the international far-right and conservative movement has once again brought the Catholic faith to the forefront as a relevant factor in the political battle. And it's not just the more tolerant practicing movements that are gaining influence, but rather they are also taking on many ultra-Catholic sectors that had been relegated until now. Just this week, the Pope ordered the elimination of a branch of the Church, Sodalitium of Christian Life, with ties to the Donald Trump administration, through US Vice President JD Vance. Now, what are the figures in Catalonia and in Spain? What are the voting patterns for Catholics and ultra-Catholics in Catalonia?
If we look at the latest data from the Barometer of the Center for Opinion Studies in Catalonia, 53.5% of Catalans declare themselves Catholic, although the majority consider themselves "social," that is, non-practicing. Only 3.7% report that their religious practice is weekly, and the majority are women. This contrasts with Christians of other denominations, which have increased in recent years due to immigration from Eastern Europe and Latin America, such as Orthodox and Evangelical Christians, who declare that, despite being a minority in society (3.4%), they practice regularly (up to 25%). Regarding other attitudes toward religion, 17.2% in Catalonia describe themselves as agnostic and 20.5% as atheists. Regarding Islam, only 1% declare themselves believers, although of these, 46.7% claim to be regular practitioners.
While the far right is growing among young people, the data do not yet reflect an increase in religious adherence. 61% of those who declare themselves practicing are over 64 years old. In contrast, young people (18 to 24) only make up 5.48%. However, this figure contrasts sharply with young people of other faiths. In the case of Islam, the highest percentage is found precisely among the youngest age groups, at 38.1%. Practicing other branches of Christianity is also higher among those between 18 and 24 (17.9%).
The director of the Center for Opinion Studies, Joan Rodríguez Teruel, consulted by ARA, explains that in Catalonia, religion has little influence on political discussions and also on voting decisions, given the profound process of secularization. This is also true in Spain, where there has never been a strong Christian Democratic party like in Italy or Germany. According to the latest CIS (Central Statistics Institute), 55.4% of Spaniards consider themselves Catholic (18.8% practicing).
The profile of Catholics in Catalonia
However, Teruel also says that ultra-Catholics in Catalonia have a very specific profile. They are more right-wing and pro-Spanish than the average. If the data is cross-referenced by voting intention, the parties in which Catholics have the greatest influence are the PP and Vox. Specifically, among those who prefer Alejandro Fernández as president, 12.5% declare themselves hard Catholics and 87.5% soft Catholics. Among supporters of Ignacio Garriga (Vox), soft Catholics stand out (66.67%), and the weight, compared to other leaders, of other Christian branches, such as Orthodox and Evangelicals, who are generally more common in practice, is also notable. Unlike the Spanish-speaking far right, among those who prefer Silvia Orriols of the Catalan Alliance, there is no significant proportion of ultra-Catholics, and they are in line with the average of the Catalan population in terms of soft Catholics.
Salvador Illa, in fact, which has made relations between the Church and the Generalitat more fluid, has 64.5% of Catholic supporters, above Carles Puigdemont (54.6%) and Oriol Junqueras (36.89%), although the weight of ultra-Catholics among those who sympathize with the president of Esquerra is higher than the Catalan average (4.92%). However, the electorate in favor of Junqueras is diverse in terms of religiosity, as agnostics (25.41%) and atheists (28.69%) also predominate. This fits, Teruel points out, with the traditional dynamic: that among left-wing Catalans, less religious attitudes have predominated. In any case, among those who prefer Puigdemont as their leader, these two attitudes also weigh heavily, around 20% in both cases.
As for the State, Catholics and ultra-Catholics also carry the most weight among Alberto Núñez Feijóo's supporters. The phenomenon of Ignacio Garriga and Santiago Abascal is repeated: voters from other Christian sects, such as Orthodox and Evangelicals, have a specific influence. In any case, the far right has penetrated organized ultra-Catholic circles. One example is Vox's link with El Yunque, an ultra-Catholic and fundamentalist Mexican sect founded in Spain in the 1970s and also linked to the pressure group Hazte Oír. According to The Country, Vox councillor in Barcelona Liberto Senderos is a founder.
