Religion in the Canary Islands

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In the Canary Islands, as in much of Spain, Catholicism is the main religion. It has been the dominant faith since the fifteenth‑century conquest, largely replacing the old Canarian beliefs through suppression and mixings of ideas.

A 2019 survey found that about 76.7% of people in the Canary Islands identify as Catholic, making the region one of the more Catholic parts of Spain. But there is also a wide mix of other religions. There are Muslim communities, Evangelical churches, Hinduism, Afro‑American religious practices, Chinese religions, Buddhism, the Baháʼí Faith, Judaism, and a local neo‑pagan group called the Church of the Guanche People.

Indigenous religion
Before Christianity, the native Guanche people practiced an animistic, polytheistic faith with a strong astral component. They sacredly honored places like mountains and rocks (for example Teide and Idafe Rock) and important trees such as the drago and the pine. They had many gods and spirits, such as Achamán (the sky god), Chaxiraxi (mother goddess), Magec (sun god), and Guayota (a demon). They also practiced funerary rites and made clay or stone idols.

Christianization
Christian influence arrived during the conquest, though some Christian elements reached the islands earlier. The first bishopric appeared around 1351. Missionaries from Mallorca and Catalonia tried to convert locals, sometimes paying a high price for it. As the islands were conquered, new church centers were built, and the Christian faith spread quickly. Over time, several bishoprics were created, moved, and reorganized. Important religious centers in the archipelago include the Virgin of Candelaria, who became a major symbol and was named Patron Saint of the Canary Islands in 1599 (a title confirmed in 1867). By the 15th and 16th centuries, most islands were fully Christianized.

Two Catholic dioceses were formed to cover the islands: the Diocese Canariense-Rubicense (east) and the Diocese of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (west). The islands produced notable saints, such as José de Anchieta and Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur, both born in Tenerife. Local Catholic devotion remains strong with many popular festas centered on the Virgin Mary and Christ, such as the Virgin of Candelaria, the Virgin of the Pine, and the Christ of La Laguna.

Other Christian communities
The archipelago has long hosted other Christian groups due to its strategic location. Anglicans have been present since the late 16th century; the first Anglican church was built in Puerto de la Cruz. Evangelical churches appeared mainly in the 20th century. There are also communities from the Church of Sweden, the Church of Norway, the German Evangelical Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Eastern Orthodox communities (Russian, Romanian, and a Canary Islands Orthodox Church linked to the Serbian Orthodox Church) began to form in the 21st century.

There are also Jehovah’s Witnesses and Latter-day Saints (Mormons), with centers across Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and La Palma. The Latter-day Saints have several meetinghouses on each island.

Islam
Islam is the second-largest religion in the islands. There were about 80,171 Muslims in 2022. Muslim communities arrived mainly on Tenerife and Gran Canaria in the 19th and 20th centuries and later spread to Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and La Palma. The Islamic Federation of the Canary Islands coordinates the Muslim associations across the archipelago.

Judaism
Judaism arrived in the Canary Islands during the Christian conquest, carried by converts from the Iberian Peninsula. The community was small and faced persecution similar to the rest of Spain, though not as severe. In the mid-20th century, Sephardic Jews from abroad began settling in the Canaries, adding to a long historical thread.

Hinduism and Buddhism
The Canary Islands have the largest Hindu community in Spain, with many Hindus living there since the 19th century when Indian merchants settled in the ports of Las Palmas and Santa Cruz. Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in Tenerife. Buddhism arrived in the 1980s, and Tibetan Buddhist traditions have grown, with some Canarian teachers recognized by major Buddhist groups in the 2000s.

Other religious influences
There are also communities following traditional Chinese religions, Baháʼí Faith, and Afro‑American practices such as Santería, Voodoo, Candomblé, Palo Mayombe, and Venezuelan Spiritism. Freemasonry had a strong role in local history, with the Masonic Temple of Santa Cruz de Tenerife once the largest in Spain before the Franco era. Small groups include the Church of Scientology and the Church of the Guanche People, a neo‑pagan movement started in 2001 to revive Canarian aboriginal religion in a modern form.

Today the Canary Islands are known for their religious diversity, with many faiths coexisting in a common cultural landscape.