Abstract
In a traditionally closed Catholic society like Spain, the sociological problem of belonging to a religious community lies essentially in the definition of 'belonging' and of 'dissent', as opposed to the situation which exists in a religiously pluralistic society. In fact the ways of belonging, in their permanent interaction, give the structure and the definition of social reality from a socio-religious viewpoint. Among the ways of 'belonging' the author distinguishes between the 'ecclesiastical': religious oligarchical conservatism, sacramentalism, subreligious magic, Christian religious humanism and the Catholic progressives, and the 'extra ecclesiastical': individual dissent, Christian philosophical and ethical humanism. As forms of dissent in Spain the author distinguishes enlightened free mason spiritualism, middle class rationalistic materialism and Marxist-communist materialism.