• Politics: Why we Spaniards are leftist ... despite everything

It is true that we are immersed in a gigantic political crisis and bound for a new appointment in the electoral loop, the fourth in four years. It is worth the inexhaustible independence challenge in Catalonia threatens to intensify in the coming months. And the shadows of the economic recession fly over our heads again. It is true that the Spaniards are up to the cap of politicians and corruption, which concerns us about gender-based violence, unemployment, the future of pensions, the rental price and the climatic emergency. The picture is to cry, but no. Although it is hard to believe, 86% of Spaniards are very satisfied with their life today . And only 2% declare themselves completely dissatisfied.

Not only are we full of pride and satisfaction, which one would say, but the Spaniards are the happiest with our personal lives among the most populous countries in the European Union. The data is one of the main conclusions of the second installment of the International Study of Values ​​and Attitudes in Europe prepared by the BBVA Foundation, which has compared the Spanish self-portrait with the profile of the citizens of Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy through a survey of 1,500 people 18 years of age or older.

If three weeks ago, the first chapter of the report revealed that, despite everything, we Spaniards are more left-wing than anyone else, the second part of the work tells us that yes, that, despite everything, we are also the most pleased. "The differences with the rest of the countries are not huge, but it is possible that there is a factor linked to the economic crisis," says Rafael Pardo , director of the BBVA Foundation. "Possibly the countries that have suffered a deeper recession in recent years have come out with an additional boost."

The portrait that one does is more real when asked about his personal situation than when he talks about the situation in the country

Javier Elzo

In the case of Spain, it is not only that we admit a higher level of personal satisfaction than our neighbors, but that our well-being has grown more than in any other country in the last seven years. In addition, no one boasts a greater sense of freedom and personal control than we do . More than 80% of Spaniards think that what happens in their lives depends mainly on themselves, on their personal effort and training, and not on any external force, be it the economic context, politicians or luck. That sense of control only increases in Spain compared to the 2012 studies.

"This is a very particular phenomenon of Spanish society, which as a whole has a masochistic point," says Javier Elzo , Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Deusto. "It is more real the portrait that one does when asked about his personal situation than when he talks about the situation of the country, which is conditioned by a social construct, created between citizens and the media, that feed back into the discourse that everything It’s wrong. I’m convinced that if a Martian came to Spain and saw the news, he would be shocked because everything is sinking, everything is a disaster, everything is horrible . And what happens is that the bad news is news and the good news is not it is".

The radiography presented by the BBVA Foundation throws other interesting facts about our private sphere. For example, 49% of Spaniards do not consider sexual relations outside the couple acceptable and all Europeans share the concern about harassment and discrimination against women.

Do we believe in God? Yes. 60% of Spaniards (still) believe in God, although the role of religion in society's vision has lost weight by leaps and bounds. In fact, 37% of respondents consider themselves to be little or not at all religious and only those over 65, especially women and especially those with rights, have a high level of religiosity. In this area we are above the figures of the United Kingdom, France or Germany, more secular countries, but far from Italy, where the weight of Catholicism is much greater. "The loss of influence of religion in recent years is evident," says Pardo, who attributes the growing detachment of Spaniards towards faith to the urbanization of our society, democratization and advances in science.

60% of Spaniards believe in God, although the role of religion in the vision of society has lost weight by leaps and bounds

Although a majority of Spaniards believe in a superior being, 55% admit that they never pray and the greatest contribution of Christianity is perceived in the impulse of art or culture and less in the protection of the weakest, the reduction of inequality or the impulse of ethics. In fact, respondents, in the five countries, agree that religion is today more a source of conflict than of peace.

"This, however, does not mean that there is a collapse of morality," warns Pardo. "Although European societies are increasingly secularized, there is a majority consensus on the existence of clear ethical principles of what is right and what is wrong." In no country is that opinion as clear as in Spain.

The portrait of the final part of the study is built on this dissociation between faith and the application of Catholic doctrine in the private sphere. We do not believe that you have to live as a couple or have children to be happy. We are mostly in favor of euthanasia (59%) and, to a lesser extent, in favor of abortion (40%) and are clearly in favor of gay marriage (53%) and that gays can adopt (49%).

We are mostly in favor of euthanasia and, to a lesser extent, in favor of abortion

"In Spain there is a clear majority that continues to be called Catholic, but it has been a long time since most of society does not share the Church's approaches, especially as regards the beginning and end of life," explains Javier Elzo, an expert in Sociology of Religion " We have passed from the state of Christianity to a secular era . The Spaniards are sociological Catholics, of environment, because being Catholic was normal, but that has collapsed throughout Western Europe. Instead a Catholicism of conviction has come, more of choice than sociological. "

- How has a country like Spain of deep Catholic tradition lost faith?

- We haven't touched the ground yet. Less and less people go to Mass, less and less people marry for the Church - less and less people get married, in fact - and to the funerals, which were the last bastion, we go less and less. In a generation or less the landscape will change and a new way of being religious, more individual, more than small groups of action will begin. But now it is easier to see what is going on than what is growing.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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