Culture of Europe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Life in the European Union
Citizenship Culture Demographics Economy Education Enlargement Foreign relations	Geography History Languages Military Politics Sport Statistics

The Culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures of Europe. Whether it is a question of West as opposed to East; Catholicism and Protestantism as opposed to Eastern Orthodoxy; Christianity as opposed to Islam; many have claimed to identify cultural fault lines across the continent. There are many cultural innovations and movements, often at odds with each other, such as Christian proselytism or Humanism. Thus the question of "common culture" or "common values" is far more complex than it seems.

Contents 1 Global influence 2 Values 3 Arts 4 Food and drink 5 Language 6 Music 7 Religion 7.1 Official religions 8 Sport 9 Symbols 10 See also 11 External links

[edit] Global influence

European culture also has a broad influence beyond the continent of Europe due to the legacy of colonialism. In this broader sense it is sometimes referred to as Western Civilisation. Nearly all of the Americas were ruled by European powers at one time or another, and some parts of the New World, such as French Guiana, still are. The vast majority of the population of the Americas speak European languages, specifically Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French. Additionally the cultures of the European colonial powers (Spain, Britain, the Netherlands , Portugal, Russia and France) exert a strong influence.

The legacy has spread European culture elsewhere in the world. Europe profoundly influenced on the cultures of Africa, India, Australia, and other places colonised or settled by Europeans.

[edit] Values

In recent decades the European Union has been seeking to identify and support common European values, however this has turned out to be a highly controversial issue. Some commentators wish to classify social cohesion and solidarity as European values and contrast them with more individualist values in the United States. The distinction is not a simple one, but is perhaps most fundamentally reflected in differing attitudes to government, notably in terms of trust in the government.

[edit] Arts

See European art history

• Eurovision Song Contest

[edit] Food and drink

See European cuisine

[edit] Language

See European languages

Language is a very important part of culture, and Europe has a widespread variety of languages, with most countries having at least one official language. Russian is the largest language in Europe, followed by German. Many regional languages are also spoken, some enjoying a level of official status or recognition. Other minority languages are also spoken. The diversity on such a small territory is proverbial. The European Union alone uses 21 official languages, which all have the same status. The cost of translation is so high that the official language of the Union is an ongoing debate, since many MEPs are bilingual and most languages have a great level of prestige.

mitch is so cool

[edit] Music

Main article: Music of Europe

[edit] Religion

Main article: Religion in Europe

Christianity being the dominant feature in shaping European culture for at least the last 1700 years. Modern philosophical thought has very much been influenced by Christian philosophers such as St Thomas Aquinas and Erasmus.

The most popular religions of Europe are the following:

• Christianity
  • Roman Catholicism: Countries or areas with significant Catholic populations are Portugal, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, south Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, south Germany, south Switzerland, Italy, Malta, Austria, Hungary,Slovenia, Croatia, the Croatian parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, west Ukraine, Romania, Latgale region in Latvia, and Lithuania. There are also large Catholic minorities in England and Wales.
  • Orthodox Christianity: The countries with significant Orthodox populations are Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,Cyprus, Finland (Karelia), Georgia, Greece, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine.
  • Protestantism: Countries with significant Protestant populations include Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, the UK, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. There are significant minorities in France, Czech Republic, Hungary, and indeed small minorities in most European Countries.
• Islam: Countries with significant Muslim population are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia (especially in Kosovo), several republics of Russia, Crimea in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Also, as of 2005, about 5% of the EU identify themselves as Muslims, with many Muslim immigrants in Germany, the UK, Benelux, Sweden and France.

Other minor religions exist in Europe, some brought by migrants, including:

• Judaism, mainly in France, UK and Russia.
• Hinduism, mainly among Indian immigrants in the UK.
• Buddhism, thinly spread throughout western Europe, and in Kalmykia, Russia
• Indigenous European pagan traditions and beliefs, many countries.
• Rastafari, communities in the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and elsewhere.
• Sikhism and Jainism, both mainly among Indian immigrants in the UK.
• Voodoo, mainly among black Caribbean and West African immigrants in the UK and France.
• Traditional African Religions (including Muti), mainly in the UK and France.

Millions of Europeans profess no religion or are atheist or agnostic. The largest non-confessional populations (as a percentage) are found in Sweden, the Czech Republic and France although most former communist countries have significant non-confessional populations. Attendance at church is a minority activity in most Western European countries - as an example, the Church of England attracts around 1 million worshippers on a Sunday [1], which corresponds to about 2% of the population of England.

[edit] Official religions

A number of countries in Europe have official religions, including Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Vatican City (Catholic); and Greece (Eastern Orthodox), Denmark, Iceland and Norway (Lutheran). In Switzerland, some cantons are officially Catholic, others Reformed Protestant. Some Swiss villages even have their religion as well as the village name written on the signs at their entrances. In Bulgaria, an article in the constitution defines Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the country's "traditional religion".

Georgia has no established church, but the Georgian Orthodox Church enjoys "de facto" privileged status. In Finland, both Finnish Orthodox Church and Lutheran church are official. Russia recognises Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism as all "official" ^{[citation needed]} (with three states, Kalmykia, Buryatia and Tuva, officially Buddhist ^{[citation needed]}). England, a part of the UK, has Anglicanism as its official religion. Scotland, another part of the UK, has Presbyterianism as the 'National' church, but is no longer "official", and in Sweden, the 'National' church is Lutheran, but no longer "official". France, Turkey and Azerbaijan are officially "secular".

[edit] Sport

Europe's influence on sport is enormous. Indeed, it is difficult to think of a modern sport, apart from basketball and related sports, that does not have its origins in Europe. European sports include:

• Association football (Football), which has contested origins between England and Italy. What is uncontestable is that the oldest association is The Football Association of England (1863) and the first international match was between Scotland and England (1872). It is now the world's most popular sport and is played throughout Europe.
• Rugby Union and rugby league, which have similar origins to football, and whose rules in Union's case today date from 1845 (see article History of rugby union) are popular in western Europe, Romania, and Georgia, in Union's case, and in England only in League's case. The influence has been carried abroad by colonisation, with many former British colonies playing Union along with Argentina, Japan, the USA and others. Rugby League is mainly confined to New Zealand and Australia. Many other sports, such as American Football are derived from Rugby.
• Athletics cannot be claimed for any continent, as its origins lie in antiquity. However the Discus, Javelin and Shot Put have their origins in ancient Greece. The Olympics, both ancient and modern, have their origins too in Europe, and have a massive influence globally.
• Field Hockey as a modern game began in 18th Century England with Ireland having the oldest federation. It is popular in Western Europe, the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and the Antipodes. Ice Hockey, popular in Europe and North America derives from this sport.
• Golf, one of the most popular sports in Europe, Asia and North America, has its origins in Scotland, with the oldest course being at Musselburgh.
• Tennis and related games such as Table Tennis derive from the game Real Tennis which is from France. It is popular throughout the world.
• Handball, which is popular in Europe and elsewhere, has its origins in antiquity. The modern game is from northern Europe with Germany having been involved in both the first women's and men's internationals.
• Cycling, which is immensely popular as a means of transport has most of its sporting adherents in Europe, particularly Western Europe. The Tour de France is the world's most watched live annual sporting event. The bicycle itself is probably from France (see History of the bicycle).
• Cricket, which is not so popular in Europe, being played only in northwest Europe, mainly England. It is however very popular worldwide, especially in Africa, the Antipodes and the Indian subcontinent. Sports such as Rounders and Baseball are thought to derive from this.

In addition, Europe has numerous national or regional sports which do not command a huge international following outside of emmigrant groups. These include:

• Gaelic Football in Ireland, which influenced Australian rules football.
• Basque Pelota in parts of Spain and France, and which has been brought to the Americas by emigrants.
• Pétanque, Boules, Irish Road Bowling, skittles, Bocce, Skittles and Bowls and others are variations of bowling games which are popular throughout western Europe and have been spread around the world.
• Hurling in Ireland.
• Shinty in Scotland.
• Gaelic Handball (Ireland) which was taken to the USA in the form of American Handball.
• Trotting in southern Europe.
• Alpine Wrestling in Switzerland.

Some sporting organisations hold European Championships.

• UEFA
• Rugby League European Nations Cup
• FIRA - Association of European Rugby
• European SC Championships
• Sport in the European Union
• Mitropa Cup
• IIHF

[edit] Symbols

• European symbols

[edit] See also

• Category:European culture
• European Capital of Culture
• Europeanisation
• Westernization

[edit] External links

• The European Library, access to the combined resources (books, magazines, journals, etc.) of the 45 national libraries of Europe
• Network of European Alimentary Culture
• [2]