Religion in the European Union

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Religion in the European Union is diverse, although primarily Christian. The European Union is secular, despite there being state churches (typically Protestant) in a number of the member countries, for example the Church of England. In recent times, there has been an increase in secularisation in many countries in EU, while others have not experienced such developments.

Contents 1 Religions 2 Church and State 3 Secularisation 4 Religiosity 5 See also 6 References

[edit] Religions

Further information: Religion in Europe

The most common religious belief in the EU is Christianity. European Christianity can be roughly divided into Roman Catholicism, a wide range of Protestant churches (especially in northern Europe) and Eastern Orthodoxy (in south eastern Europe).^[1]

Judaism has had a long, and in the past frequently dark, history in Europe. In 2002 the EU had an estimated Jewish population of roughly over a million, including about 519,000 in France and about 273,500 in the United Kingdom (compare with about 5 million Jews living in Israel.^[2]). In view of the history of persecution of Jews in Europe, antisemitism remains a matter of attention within the EU.^[3]

Immigration has introduced other religions into European countries, most notably Islam. It was estimated that the Union's Muslim population in 2006 was 16 million people.^[4] The country with the largest percentage of Muslims in Western Europe is France with 8%-10%. Aside from Turkey, the only possible future member to have a majority of Muslims is Albania, although other Balkan states also have sizeable Muslim populations.^[5]

Suspicions of Muslim populations have risen in some Western European countries such as the UK, where 38% see Muslims as a threat to national security. In France, on the other hand, only 21% see Muslims as a threat to their society and 52% say the Muslim community has been unfairly criticised. In both countries however less than a quarter approved of faith schools and a religious presence in schools and workplaces, while in Italy this is not considered to be a problem.^[6][7] In the Netherlands, there is a slim majority stating they have an unfavourable view of Muslims. Islamaphobia, including violent attacks upon Muslims, is seen to be rising in the EU, with a series of clashes and incidents connected to the religion occurring in recent years. This includes: the participation of European countries in the Iraq War, the murder of Theo van Gogh, the 2004 Madrid train bombings, the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy and numerous terrorist attacks in the UK such as the 7 July 2005 London bombings.^[8] In response to extremism, some figures, such as Justice Freedom & Security Commissioner Franco Frattini, have suggested creating a "European Islam" - a branch of the Islamic faith that is compatible with European values.^[8]

Due to the rise of other religions, and some intolerance towards them, the Commission now regularly meets with different religious leaders.^[9] In November 2005, a delegation from the European Humanist Federation was invited to a meeting by President Barroso. This was the first time a humanist group had been consulted in this manner by the Commission. President Romano Prodi has refused such meetings, despite meeting various religious leaders, causing some resentment by humanists.^[10]

[edit] Church and State

The EU is a secular body, i.e., there is a separation of church and state. There are no formal ties to any religion and no mention of religion in any current or proposed treaty.^[11] Discussion over the draft texts of the European Constitution and later the Treaty of Lisbon have included proposals to mention Christianity and/or God in the preamble of the text. This call has been supported by Christian religious leaders, most notably the Pope.^[12] However explicit inclusion of a link to religion faced opposition from secularists and the final Constitution referred to Europe's "Religious and Humanist inheritance". A second attempt to include Christianity in the treaty was undertaken in 2007 with the drafting of the Treaty of Lisbon. Angela Merkel promised the Pope that she would use her influence during Germany's presidency to try to include a reference to Christianity and God in this replacement for the constitution. This has provoked opposition, not least in the German press,^[13] and as this inclusion may have caused problems in reaching a final agreement, this attempt was given up.^[14] Of the Union's 27 states, only five have an official state religion, these being Cyprus (Cypriot Orthodox Church), Denmark (Danish National Church), Greece (Church of Greece), Malta (Roman Catholic Church) and England in the UK (Church of England). (Some other churches have a close relationship with the state.^[15])

In the secularising EU, The Vatican has been vocal against a perceived "militant atheism". It based this on a number of events, for example; the rejection of religious references in the Constitution and Treaty of Lisbon, the rejection by Parliament of Rocco Buttiglione as Justice Commissioner in 2004,^[12] while at the same time Parliament approved Peter Mandelson (who is gay^[16]) as Trade Commissioner, and the legalisation of same-sex marriage in countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain.^[12] The European Parliament has also been calling for same-sex marriages to be recognised across the EU.^[17] Meanwhile, states such as Latvia and Poland ^[18] have rejected legislation designed to stop discrimination against homosexuals. This has been stated to be on religious grounds, with homosexual behaviour described as "degenerate" and "unnatural", and the Catholic church influencing public opinion. The difference of opinion between these countries and Brussels has been damaging relations.^[19][15]

[edit] Secularisation

Citizens in countries belonging to EU still have some form of belief system,^[20] although only 21% see it as important.^[21] There is increasing atheism or agnosticism among the general population in Europe, with falling church attendance and membership in many countries.^[21][22] In 2005, a survey of the EU's members at that time found that among EU citizens, 52% believe in a god, 27% in some sort of spirit or life force and 18% had no form of belief. The countries where the fewest people reported a religious belief were the Czech Republic (19%) and Estonia (16%).^[20] In such countries, even those who have a faith can be disdainful of organized religion.^[23] The most religious societies are those in Malta with 95% (predominantly Roman Catholic), and Cyprus and Romania both with about 90% of their citizens believing in a god. Across the EU, belief was higher among women, increased with age, those with religious upbringing, those with the lowest levels of formal education, those leaning towards right-wing politics, and those reflecting more upon philosophical and ethical issues.^[20]

[edit] Religiosity

Today, theism is losing prevalence in most (but not all) countries within EU in favour of secularity. Some EU countries have experienced a decline in church attendance, as well as a decline in the number of people professing a belief in a God. The Eurobarometer Poll 2005 found that, on average, 52% of the citizens of EU member states state that they believe in a God, 27% believe there is some sort of spirit or life Force while 18% do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God or Life Force. 3% declined to answer. According to a recent study (Dogan, Mattei, Religious Beliefs in Europe: Factors of Accelerated Decline), 47% of Frenchmen declared themselves as agnostic in 2003. The situation of religion varies between countries in European Union. A decrease in religiousness and church attendance in western Europe (especially France, Germany and Sweden) has been noted and called "Post-Christian Europe". 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 European countries ranked by religiosity, based on belief in a God, according to the Eurobarometer Poll 2005. The 2005 Eurobarometer Poll asked whether the person believed "there is a God", believed "there is some sort of spirit of life force", "didn't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".

Eurobarometer Poll 2005

Country	Belief in a God	Belief in a Spirit or Life Force	Belief in neither a Spirit, God or Life Force
Malta	95%	3%	1%
Turkey	95%	2%	1%
Romania	90%	8%	1%
Cyprus	90%	7%	2%
Greece	81%	16%	3%
Portugal	81%	12%	6%
Poland	80%	15%	1%
Italy	74%	16%	6%
Ireland	73%	22%	4%
Croatia	67%	25%	7%
Slovakia	61%	26%	11%
Spain	59%	21%	18%
Austria	54%	34%	8%
Lithuania	49%	36%	12%
Switzerland	48%	39%	9%
Germany	47%	25%	25%
Luxembourg	44%	28%	22%
Hungary	44%	31%	19%
Belgium	43%	29%	27%
Finland	41%	41%	16%
Bulgaria	40%	40%	13%
Iceland	38%	48%	11%
United Kingdom	38%	40%	20%
Latvia	37%	49%	10%
Slovenia	37%	46%	16%
France	34%	27%	33%
Netherlands	34%	37%	27%
Norway	32%	47%	17%
Denmark	31%	49%	19%
Sweden	23%	53%	23%
Czech Republic	19%	50%	30%
Estonia	16%	54%	26%

[edit] See also

• Culture of the European Union
• European Fundamental Rights Agency
• The European Union and the Catholic Church
• Christianity in Europe
• Islam in Europe
• LGBT rights in Europe
• List of religious populations
• Major world religions
• Christianity by country
• Islam by country
• Buddhism by country
• Hinduism by country
• Judaism by country
• No Faith by Country

[edit] References

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