Almost 20% of Spaniards believe that climate change is due to a natural process of the earth, according to a study

30% believe in the visit of aliens to Earth, 14% that the human being has not reached the moon and 4% are embankment

18% of Spaniards believe that climate change is due to a natural process of the earth, compared to 67% that attributes their origin to human activity and 14% who believe that it is due to both.

This is reflected in the study of the BBVA Foundation on scientific -based beliefs and alternative beliefs and practices, prepared through a telephone survey to a sample of 2,013 individuals, representative of the Spanish population over 18, carried out in December 2024.

The vision of the anthropogenic origin of climate change is accentuated among women, young people, who have a low level of religiosity, who identify ideologically with the left and among those who trust more in the explanatory value of science. On the contrary, those who conceive it as a natural process of the Earth ascends almost a third among those who identify ideologically with the most extreme positions of the right.

The research reveals that there is generalized trust in the explanatory potential of science: two out He believes that there are many important things that science cannot and cannot explain.

There is also a general agreement regarding the cognitive attributes of science, being perceived as the most objective knowledge (average of 8.0 on a scale of 0 to 10), reliable (7,4), with the ability to separate what true of what is false (6.9).

The document indicates that, although more than half of the Spaniards say belong to a religion (53%) and, within that group, 86% declare to belong to the Catholic religion, the level of religiosity of the Spanish population ” It is very low “(average of 3.7 on a scale of 0 to 10, with almost 40% in the lowest position of the scale, 0-2).

Almost half of the Spaniards believe in the existence of God, 38% believe in sin and about a third believe in life in another world after death, miracles, heaven and sacred books. A smaller segment of around 20% believes in reincarnation, demon and hell.

Regarding a belief of religious narrative in potential collision with science, such as the origin of the universe or the origin of the human being, the study reflects that the Spaniards opt for the vision offered by scientific knowledge. 78% believe in the evolutionary explanation of the origin of human beings against 33% who believe that the universe was created by God or by a spiritual supreme being.

The vast majority of the adult population in Spain attributes great importance when making important decisions to experience and common sense (94% states that it is guided by these criteria). Together with the previous experience, scientific information (82%) and rational analysis of the situation (77%) appear in a predominant place.

With a very high weight, different aspects appear, in principle compatible with rationality, such as feelings and emotions (77% declare to guide themselves a lot or quite a lot), intuition (75%) and, to a lesser extent, the first printing (55%).

Another important vector in the personal decision -making process is social influence through several facets and crystallizations. In particular, the opinions of the membership or relatives (64%) are taken into account, but, at least declaratively, not what the majority of society thinks (15%). Another relevant factor is customs and traditions (53%).

At a midpoint, almost half of the Spaniards declare to take into account in their decisions the recommendations of the authorities (49%). Religious beliefs (23%) and political convictions (25%) are relegated to a lesser importance, “perhaps because many of personal decisions overflow the spheres of religion and politics.” It is also declared to attribute a modest value to the information provided by the media (23%) and even less than social networks (11%).

Most do not accept alternative beliefs

In a mental framework of appreciation of reason and science, the vast majority of citizens reject that stars and planets influence what happens to people in their daily lives (30% declare that they believe in this).

As for alternative approaches in the field of health, such as belief in healers to treat serious diseases, it reaches 13%. In addition, 30% believe in the visit of aliens to Earth, 14% that the human being has not reached the moon and 4% that the earth is flat.

On the other hand, the existence of alternative treatments to conventional medicine, such as homeopathy, reiki or reflexology are not taken by the majority of the population as a resource for choice for the treatment of health problems, also being some of some of They unknown to very broad groups, as is the case of Ayurveda (68%do not know what it is) and, to a lesser extent Reiki (37%) or reflexology (30%).

However, homeopathy is used by 21% of Spain (19% sporadically and 2% regularly). It is followed by reflexology with 14% (12% and 2%), Reiki with 8% (7% and 1%) and ayurveda 3%. As a whole, 31% of Spaniards have used at least one of these four practices sporadically.

In addition to the general confidence in medicine, the Spaniards trust the usefulness of the treatments offered by psychiatry and the role of vaccines is very positively assessed.

On the other hand, complementary practices, such as meditation or yoga, although practiced by limited segments (28% and 16% respectively), obtain a favorable positioning among citizens and generate a high level of confidence in terms of their usefulness for General well -being. Acupuncture and, especially, homeopathy deserve a low level of confidence.

Trust in vaccines and psychiatry is transverse and is further accentuated among the youngest, those who have higher studies, low level of religiosity, believe in the explanatory power of science and declare themselves ideologically on the left. Meditation generates more confidence among women and in reverse relation to age, while trust in homeopathy is also greater among women and adults from 45 to 64 years.