Pandemic and religion. Spanish Catholicism in the context of global transformations

Abstract

We examine the impact of the pandemic on religiosity and attitudes towards the Catholic Church in Spain. The author analyzes Spanish religious life and defines its specificity in the context of global transformations of the pandemic era, based on the researches of leading sociological centers. It would seem that in the face of a mortal threat, the population will more often turn to God and that religion will strengthen its positions. But the reality is more complicated. At various stages of the pandemic the reaction was different. Prevailing religions also gave their own models of behavior and understanding of the pandemic. Catholicism demonstrated very rational and disciplined approach to the sanitary measures and vaccinations, which corresponds to its attitude towards earthly life and bodily health. In pandemic era the general pattern was linked with the strengthening of faith among strong believers. The nonbelievers, agnostics and atheists became even more entrenched in their unbelief. This also applies to Spain, where the overall religiosity of the public correlates with its political orientations. The polarization of society is going fast, with religion rapidly losing its influence. The proportion of practicing Catholics continues to decline, and the pandemic accelerated this process. Although the Catholic Church in Spain provided significant material and spiritual assistance to the suffering society, it failed to strengthen its position due to the loss of reputation, caused by suppression of problems related to pedophilia and homosexuality of the priesthood. The author comes to a conclusion that the spiritual transformation of modern Spanish society mean that the Christian world is probably approaching radical changes in the forms of its spiritual life and faith.