walked to Santiago de Compostela alone. Statistics There are over 42 million baptized, covering about 92% of the total population. There are 70 dioceses and archdioceses. Some studies indicate that the percentage of the population that identifies as catholic is closer to 60%. In spite of strong traditions, most Spaniards do not participate regularly in religious services. A study conducted in October 2006 by the Spanish Centre of Sociological Research shows that of the Spaniards who identify themselves as religious, 54% hardly ever or never go to church (except for wedding and funerals), 15% go to church some times a year, 10% some time per month and 19% every Sunday or multiple times per week. A huge majority of young Spaniards, including those who self-identify as Catholic, ignore the Church's stance on issues such as pre-marital sex, sexual orientation or contraception. 75% of Spanish Catholics support same-sex marriage and 13% oppose it. 91% of Spanish Catholics believe society should accept gay people while 8% believe society should not accept gays. The total number of parish priests has shrunk from 24,300 in 1975 to 19,307 in 2005. Nuns also dropped 6.9% to 54,160 in the period 2000–2005. According to the Eurobarometer 69 (2008), another independent source, only 3% of Spaniards consider religion as one of their three most important values, while the European mean is 7%. See also Religion in Spain Eastern Orthodoxy in Spain Protestantism in Spain Anglicanism in Spain Saints of Catalonia Catholicism in the Second Spanish Republic Martyrs of the Spanish Civil War References Further reading Callahan, William J. The Catholic Church in Spain, 1875-1998 (1998; reprint 2012) Jedin, Hubert, and John Dolan, eds. History of the Church, Volume X: The Church in the Modern Age (1989) Lannon, Frances. Privilege, Persecution, and Prophecy. The Catholic Church in Spain 1875-1975. (Oxford UP, 1987) Payne, Stanley G. Spanish Catholicism: An Historical Overview (1984) Relaño Pastor, Eugenia. "Spanish Catholic Church in Franco Regime: A Marriage of Convenience," Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte: Internationale Zeitschrift für Theologie und Geschichtswissenschaft (2007) 20#2 pp 275–287. Vincent, Mary. "Spain", in Tom Buchanan and Martin Conway, eds., Political Catholicism in Europe, 1918–1965 (Oxford 1996) Spain Spain Spain Spanish culture