Women’s Religious Belonging and Activism in Secularising Catholic Europe

This paper analyses changing patterns of women’s religious belonging in secularising European societies. Drawing on European Social Survey (ESS) data and documentary analysis of three reform-oriented Catholic groups—Donne per la Chiesa, Revuelta de Mujeres en la Iglesia, and We Are Church Ireland—it examines changing relationships with institutional religion in Italy, Spain, and Ireland. Across these countries, women’s weekly attendance and Catholic affiliation declined over the period considered, with younger age groups less likely to attend. However, the selected cases show that institutional critique does not necessarily imply religious disengagement. Instead, the groups examined negotiate Catholic belonging through theological reflection, collective action, feminist critique, and demands for greater participation within the Church.