Does Spain
turn you off God?
MADRID, 11/20/07
A lack of time is the most commonly cited reason why
immigrants stop practising their religion when they move to
Spain. Nine out of ten women who migrate to Spain arrive
with a faith of some sort, and 82% are practising. However,
once they are settled here, the percentage begins to
drop.
61% of
those who stop practising their faith say they don´t have
time, given the fact that they usually have to work long
hours to make ends meet. 8.5%, mainly Protestants and
Muslims, cite the difficulty of getting to a place of
worship, while 20% say it´s enough to believe. A recent
study shows that God is the most important part of the
lives of many female immigrants (42% of them), which is
much higher than among their Spanish female counterparts.
However, this tails off the longer the immigrants are in
Spain. While 70% say they keep their faith intact, 15%
admit they are losing it, and 3% say they´ve already lost
it. Only 9% say they have felt rejection from Spaniards
towards their religious beliefs. A third of this group
speak of “discrimination or little
tolerance”, and a few say they
have “been looked at with fear or
hate.”
The two worst affected groups are Protestants and Muslims.
One in ten Muslim women complains at
“the lack of knowledge of
Islam” among the Spanish
population, and the associating of Islam with terrorism by
many people. The research was presented at a conference in
Madrid entitled ´Women immigrants: challenges and
opportunities.´ Almost 5% of those attending were
Protestants.
Source:
Colpisa/ACPress.net
