Paper short abstract:

This brief presentation focuses on the effects of the Second Vatican Council on religious beliefs and practice in rural Spain. Political and socioeconomic developments in Spain, particularly the fall of the Franco regime, will also be considered.

Paper long abstract:

Based on ethnographic research during the 1960s and 1970s, this presentation examines the decline of everyday Roman Catholic religious beliefs and practice throughout Spain. There is every indication that actions taken by the clergy themselves were largely responsible for the secular attitudes that characterize most Spaniards today. Religious reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council undermined faith in ancient spiritual verities. Among a host of popular actions, priests themselves annulled religious processions that for centuries had been a source of spiritual strength and social cohesion. The Mass, newly conducted in the vernacular and governed by unfamiliar communion rules, overnight became virtually unrecognizable to the majority of congregants. In addition, longstanding anti-clerical sentiments, which had been suppressed during the Franco regime, received legitimate outlet after the dictator's death in November 1975. Tourism, economic development, the introduction of mass media, and the opening of Spain to immigrant workers also played an important role in the secularization process.