Religion In Spanish: 3 Chunks To Speak Religiously In Spanish-Speaking Countries
¿Y cuándo te dan los resultados?
(And when will you get the results?)
El próximo lunes, si Dios quiere.
(Next Monday, God willing.)
Ay, hijita, pues, tú pídele mucho a Dios que todo salga bien.
(Oh, little daughter, well, ask God that everything goes well.)
Claro que sí, mamita.
(Of course, mommy.)
¡Dios! ¡Dios! (God! God!)
In this video you will learn how to handle conversations about religion in Spanish in Mexico and Latin America, and you will find out how many blocks you can walk in Mexico City WITHOUT seeing a religious image…
¿Por qué estamos tan obsesionados con los santos? (Why are we so obsessed with saints?). Let’s find out!
1. Hablando de tus creencias (Talking about your beliefs)
¿Crees en Dios?
(Do you believe in God?)
Creo en un poder superior.
(I believe in a higher power.)
¿Crees en Dios?
(Do you believe in God?)
La verdad es que soy atea, pero respeto muchísimo todas las religions.
(The truth is that I’m an atheist, but I respect all religions.)
¿Crees en algo? Dios, el universo, ya sabes.
(Do you believe in something? God, the Universe, you know.)
Sí. Soy protestante.
(Yes. I’m a protestant.)
¿Crees en algún poder superior?
(Do you believe in a higher power?)
Soy agnóstico.
(I’m agnostic.)
¿Y eso cómo es?
(And what is that?)
Ah, significa que pienso que no se puede saber si Dios existe o no.
(Oh, that means that I think that it cannot be known whether God exists or not.)
¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Ay! ¡Qué heavy! (Oh! Oh! Oh! How deep!)
Have you subscribed to the Spring Spanish channel yet? ¿Qué? ¿Cómo que no? (What? What do you mean, no?) Do it right now 😉
Even if discussing religion is not the best idea to socialize, given the culture in Mexico and Latin America, people are very likely to ask you about your beliefs. Stay until the end to find out my own religious beliefs.
Así que, tienes que estar preparado. (So, you have to be prepared.)
We’re giving you more options to describe what seems to be a very popular opinion nowadays:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Creo en un ser superior. | I believe in a higher being. |
| Creo en algo. | I believe in something. |
| Creo que hay algo más grande que nosotros. | I believe there’s something bigger than us. |
| Soy católico, pero nada más de nombre. | I’m Catholic, but only by name. |
And then in this phrase you can change the religion:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Soy protestante, pero nada más de nombre. | I’m Protestant, but only by name. |
| Soy cristiana pero nada más de nombre. | I’m Christian, but only by name. |
2. Religion in Spanish-speaking countries
When the Spaniards came to Mexico, they brought their religion with them, the catholic.
Same thing happened throughout Latin America, and after about 300 years of colonization, the catholic religion still plays a huge role in our culture.
3. Chunks de español muy útiles (Very useful Spanish chunks)
Here are some chunks that you’ll hear over and over when in Mexico or Latin America:
Ojalá (Hopefully).
There’s nothing obviously godly about this phrase, but it actually comes from an Arabic formula that means: “If God wanted”. Nowadays, we use it to express our hope for something to happen.
If you want to learn more about this very special word, ojalá, and how to use the subjunctive with it, check out Maura’s video here.
Ojalá puedas venir a la fiesta.
(I hope you can come to the party.)
Sí amiga, ojalá mi compañero de trabajo acepte cubrir mi turno.
(Yes, girlfriend, I hope my work colleague accepts to cover my shift.)
Si Dios quiere. (God willing.)
Ya me voy a dormir. Hasta mañana.
(I’m going to sleep now. Until tomorrow.)
Hasta mañana, si Dios quiere. Que sueñes con los angelitos.
(Until tomorrow, God willing. May you dream about little angels.)
¿Cuándo se casa Anita?
(When is Anita getting married?)
En marzo. Primero Dios.
(In March. God willing.)
Dios Mediante. (God willing)
Me gradúo este septiembre, Dios mediante.
(I graduate this September, God willing.)
Phrases like primero Dios or Dios mediante both mean God willing, and they are chunks of Spanish, phrases that native Spanish speakers use all the time, and can help you feel more confident getting your message across.
Download a list of useful Spanish chunks in the link in the description.
✔️ Cheat Sheet with 54 essential Spanish Chunks you’ll hear and use yourself in ANY Spanish conversation (and example sentences). Taken from our YouTube Teacher’s most popular videos!
✔️ 2 Bonus Cheat Sheets with Travel Chunks and Dating/Relationship Chunks
✔️ A Spanish Chunking Tutorial showing you the 1 technique that’ll help you make 100% of the Spanish from our videos roll off the tongue in just 5 minutes a day (you’re probably only using 50% of our lessons’ potential right now…)
(Many times, people simply use these expressions without being actually super religious. It’s just that religion is still present in Mexico everywhere.
I think it is better to show you than to tell you:
Acompáñame, ven conmigo, vamos a buscar santos. (Come with me, let’s go look for some saints.) I’m going to walk in four directions and see how long it takes before we find a religious image in a centric neighborhood in Mexico City.
¡Dos cuadras! ¡Solo dos cuadras! Y luego 500 metros. (2 blocks! Only 2 blocks! And then 500 meters.)
Se me olvidó grabar antes pero ahora les voy a decir cuanto tiempo, mas bien qué distancia llevo caminando ahorita les digo…. (I forgot to record before but now I am going to tell you how long, rather how far I have been walking right now I tell you…. And see the little virgin of Guadalupe.)
¿Qué? ¿Cómo dice? A es San judas. Este es San Judas.? “Hijo mío yo soy un santo y a mi me pueden pedir que haga, no, ¿como es? Hijo mío yo soy un santo y a mi me pueden pedir que te haga milagros pero no me pidas que desaparezca tu basura porque no soy mago. Santo pero no mago. ( Ok, I’ve only been walking two blocks and look what I found: “my son, I shower you with blessings and you, on the other hand, shower me with garbage and… what does this say? It’s Saint Jude. This is Saint Jude? My son, I am a saint and they can ask me to do, no, how is it? My son, I am a saint and you can ask me to do miracles for you, but don’t ask me to make your trash disappear because I’m not a magician. Saint but not magician.)
Well I’m already in the third block and look what I found: another! But there people are throwing garbage, how barbaric!
4. Hablar de tu práctica religiosa (Talk about your religious practice)
As you can see, the Catholic religion has a great presence in Mexico, but we have religious freedom and there is no official religion.
So don’t be shy about sharing your religious background:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Mis papás son protestantes, pero yo no practico ninguna religión. | My parents are protestants, but I don’t practice any religion. |
| Soy católica, “de nombre”, porque nunca voy a la iglesia. | I’m catholic by name, because I never go to church. |
| Soy luterana, pero no practico. | I’m Lutheran, but I don’t practice. |
| Soy judía, pero es más un tema cultural que religioso. | I’m Jewish, but it’s more a cultural matter than a religious one. |
| Me criaron como católica, pero me convertí al Islam. | I was raised catholic, but I converted to Islam. |
| Más que religiosa, me considero spiritual. | More than religious, I consider myself spiritual. |
Now Paulisima will share hers:
Aunque mi familia es católica, yo no estoy bautizada. Creo en Dios, más bien, creo en un poder superior. ¿Y tú? ¿Crees en Dios? (Although my family is Catholic, I am not baptized. I believe in God, rather, I believe in a higher power. And you? Do you believe in God?)
Remember that simply asking someone if they believe in God is not considered rude in Mexico. What you would want to avoid is, for example, an argument of the existence of God, or the superiority of one religion over another.
Es un poco complicado ser mexicano. (It’s a bit complicated to be Mexican.)
