Of the young people interviewed by the Santa María Foundation in its Jóvenes 2000 survey on religion and youth in Spain, 60.2% declared that “the Catholic Church helps the poor and the oppressed, while 86.4% think that “the Catholic Church is living in the past”. The picture that emerges from the survey is fairly worrying about the religious convictions of the young. The survey in fact reveals a steady haemorrhage of the young from the institutional Church. Its findings have given rise to a controversy in Spain about the degree of participation of the young in the Church: only 12,3% declare they attend Sunday mass and 10% believe that the Church offers ideas and values from which the young can seek guidance in their life. Only 2.8% consider themselves “a good Catholic”. The survey reveals a “global religious silence” broken only by the Pope’s visit or by some scandals. “The spiritual climate is hardly stimulating, and favours the proliferation of religious indifference”, concludes the survey. Another finding is that “the family is less and less performing its task of transmitting religious values, even if the influence of parents is more decisive than that of friends”. Criticism of the survey has been expressed by the Institute of Sociological Sciences in Valencia. Its director, Vicente Sastre, thinks that “an analysis of the religious situation of youth in Spain deserves greater professionalism”. The authors of the survey reply by saying they are optimistic about the religious feelings of the new generations of Spaniards: “There is a presence of a serious and committed Catholic minority among the young”. In their view, “the young have a rather positive image of priests, and members of religious orders”. The researchers urge that the future be regarded as an “opportunity” and a “challenge to seek new approaches”. The view is shared by the head of youth ministry of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Víctor Cortizo: “The young strongly feel the need for their life to be coherent with their faith; they feel part of the Church, not because of their parents but by choice”.
