Spain

=**Spain **=

A project by Rachel A.

This is a video of Spain I found on Youtube.com check it out. I like the music in the background for some reason. media type="youtube" key="lOidDDP1uzE" height="344" width="425"

__Culture__
All the fun stuff that goes on in Spain. The fiestas and celebrations. media type="custom" key="3943739"

**__History__**
This is a timeline of Spains general history dating back to the Aztec times, and the age of discovery all the way until 40 years ago.

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**__Religion__**
If you walk around Spain you will be able to tell the main religion of the country just by looking at the cathedrals, and buildings around the nation. The dominant religion in Spain is Roman Catholic. Even people that don't actively practice the religion claim themselves to be Catholic, because of the culture. If your a Spaniard, you are a Catholic. Currently the percentage of Catholics in Spain hovers between 81% to 94%. Though at one point, during the Spanish Inquisition the percent of Catholics reached the entirety of 100% in the country. This is because for 350 years during the Inquisition, Catholics actively tortured and drove all other minority religions out of the country. Before the Inquisition much of the country was Muslim. Then during the Inquisition they all fled back into central Europe. Finally, after around 500 years Muslims and other religions are starting to settle in the area again. Currently there are nearly 1 million Muslims, and small minorities of Jews and Protestants. Even though the majority of Spain is Catholic, some laws that have been passed are strictly against the church. Issues like gay marriage, abortion, birth control, and divorce. In 2005 a bill was passed to legalize gay marriage with the support of nearly 70% of the country. Where the Catholic church is strictly against homosexual acts. So even though the majority of Spain is Catholic, they are also extremely Liberal in their political beliefs. So although most of Spain claims to be Catholic, we can conclude that they don't agree with their church on many issues.