ABSTRACT
Portugal is a traditionally Roman Catholic country in Southern Europe and it may be considered as an example of religion's reconfiguration in that specific cultural and geographical context, a field which is worth discussing in terms of the applicability of theoretical models such as secularization, privatization, and religion in the public sphere. The Catholic Church in Portugal remained a sacred canopy for a longer period of time than in most other Western countries. The fact that a Christian-Democratic political party has never been founded in Portugal is probably due to this social and political context. Welfare and educational institutions pertain to the two sectors that are the most relevant autonomous spaces created and managed by the traditional churches not only in Portugal, but also in other European countries like Belgium and the Netherlands. In spite of the great changes due to the secularization process, religion and religiosity occupy a central place in contemporary societies.
