Religion in Europe

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Religion in Europe spans the approximately 50,000 years of human settlement in the continent of Europe, from the earliest prehistoric spirituality to later pagan religions, such as the Ancient Greek, Roman and Nordic faiths, to the spread of the Abrahamic religions. Europe has a rich and diverse religious history, and its various faiths have been a major influence on European art, culture, philosophy and law. The majority of Europeans are Christian, of which nearly half are Catholic; the second-largest religion in Europe is Islam, followed by Judaism. Europe also has the largest number and proportion of irreligious, agnostic and atheistic people in the Western world, with a particularly high number of self-described non-religious people in Scandinavia.

Contents 1 Modern religions 1.1 Christianity 1.2 Judaism 1.3 Islam 2 Largely historical religions 2.1 Greco-Roman 2.2 Germanic 3 See also

[edit] Modern religions

[edit] Christianity

Further information: Christianity by country

Today, Europe is in a period of relative agnosticism. European countries have experienced a decline in Church attendance, as well as a decline in the number of people professing a belief in God, particularly in Protestant Europe. This period is often called "Post-Christian Europe". A decrease in religiousness and church attendance in western Europe (especially France, Germany and Sweden) has been noted, but in contrary to it, there is an increase in Eastern Europe, especially in Greece and Romania (2% in 1 year).

The following is a list of Christian European countries ranked by religiosity, based on belief in God, according to the World Values Survey. In parentheses is the form of Christianity the country is, historically and presently, most grounded in. Very few trends can be seen in these data.

• Malta (Catholic) 99.1%
• Poland (Catholic) 96.2%
• Ireland (Catholic) 93.7%
• Moldova (Orthodox) 91.8%
• Romania (Orthodox) 91.6%
• Croatia (Catholic) 91.4%
• Italy (Catholic) 87.8%
• Portugal (Catholic) 84.0%
• Greece (Orthodox) 83.7%
• Austria (Catholic) 82.7%
• Bulgaria (Ortodox) 82.6%
• Spain (Catholic) 78.4%
• Iceland (Protestant) 76.9%
• Switzerland (Catholic/Protestant)76.4%
• Slovakia (Catholic) 75.9%
• Finland (Protestant) 73.8%
• Serbia and Montenegro (Orthodox) 72.9%
• Belarus (Orthodox) 72.2%
• Latvia (Balanced) 70.1%
• Lithuania (Catholic) 69.9%
• Ukraine (Orthodox) 69.1%
• Luxembourg (Catholic) 68%
• Belgium (Catholic) 65.9%
• Norway (Protestant) 65.1%
• Hungary (Mostly Catholic) 64.9%
• Slovenia (Catholic) 62.1%
• Denmark (Protestant) 62.1%
• Great Britain (Mostly Protestant) 60.6%
• Russia (Orthodox) 59.3%
• Netherlands (Catholic/Protestant) 58%
• France (Catholic) 56.1%
• Germany (Catholic/Protestant) 49.5%
• Sweden (Protestant) 46.6%
• Estonia (Protestant/Orthodox) 41.0%
• Czech Republic (Catholic) 33.1%

[edit] Judaism

Further information: History of the Jews in Europe, Jews by country

[edit] Islam

Further information: Islam in Europe, Islam by country

[edit] Largely historical religions

[edit] Greco-Roman

Further information: Ancient Greek religion, Roman religion

[edit] Germanic

Further information: Germanic paganism

[edit] See also

• Major world religions
• African religions
• Religion in Asia
• Religion in North America
• Religion in Oceania
• Religion in South America