We bring you this article about the religion in europeWhat is the most widely professed religion in all of Europe? knowing that there are several religions, where the inhabitants have the right to choose which religion to profess since they are very believers in the religion that is professed in the different countries of Europe.
religion in europe
Religion in Europe has gone through many historical moments, from the ancient pagan religions, making its way through the religion of the Greeks which encompasses a large collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Greece and the Roman religion that was similar to that of the Greeks with a set of cults that were based on various doctrines until reaching the methods of Christianity.
In the present time in which we live, there are several religions in the countries of Europe that are not the official religion of the country. But they coexist with the growing secularism, Islam also exists as a religion in Europe thanks to the phenomenon of migration that is taking place and the aggressive proselytism by some religious that is becoming increasingly stronger in religion in Europe.
When talking about religion in Europe, it can be said that with the number of countries that make up the European continent there is a diversity of religions, plus the migrations that are currently taking place from the Asian and African continents, new religious cults are being adopted.
But the religion in Europe that remains with the most faithful is Catholicism according to data from the center and sociological research in Spain that the Spanish population considers itself 69 percent Catholic, 25,4 percent non-believer or atheist and 4,2 .XNUMX percent belongs to the other religions.
In this article on religion in Europe we will give you a summary of the religions that exist on the European continent and what is the predominant religion? making a description of several European countries and how their religion and government have been over the years.
governments and religions
In the European continent wars have always been carried out by annexing lands and the countries became strong or weak by the wars they carried out against other countries and the winner obtained the lands and treasure of the dominated country, while the dominated country was annexed to the winner and had to adopt all traditions as well as religion.
That is why almost all monarchies have in some way a union with the church, even to a greater or lesser extent, unions have always been formed between the church and the power of the kings so that the people would accept them and this would be universally united in the staging of political and pontifical power.
Even some governments in Europe are believed to have divine power because they are closely related to a particular religion, for example, the case of absolutism in Vatican City where the Pope is considered the first official of God on earth or the King of England who is the main head of the Anglican religion in that country. There is also the Queen of Denmark as the head of the church of the Danish people.
In this article we will present several cases of how religion in Europe occupies a specific power in the different governments and how the people have adopted it as something normal, in this way we have the following countries:
Vatican City: In this article on religion in Europe, the Vatican City, which is located in the city of Rome and belongs to Italy, is the world headquarters of the Catholic religion, being the religion that has the most followers in the world with almost 72 percent of parishioners.
This religion is governed by its head of state named Pope Francis, but that is his secular name since his real name is Jorge Mario Bergoglio and he is the 266th Pope who has held that religious position.
It also has a Secretary of State who currently holds that position Cardinal Pietro Parolin, of Italian origin and the Governor of the Vatican City named Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello; With these three influential people with high religious positions, a diplomatic corps is formed that also fulfills religious and political functions.
That is why Pope Francis, together with the Secretary of State and the Governor, exercise sovereignty through the Roman Curia, which is the set of religious and governmental institutions of the Holy Catholic See and therefore constitute a sovereign State with a theocracy.
Athos Mountains: It is an autonomous state protected by the government of Greece, it is governed by its governor named Aristos Kasmir Oglou who is a proselytizer of the Orthodox Church of Greece. In the geographical framework, there are more than twenty Orthodox monasteries of different religions in that territory, of which the majority are (Greeks, Romanians, Russians, Bulgarians, Serbs and Georgians).
Since 1924, it has been a sovereign state when it was recognized by the Kingdom of Greece and a set of laws were drafted that govern the community. Its capital is Karyes, in the last census that was made in 2011. It had 2416 inhabitants, of whom 2230 are Greeks, monks and laymen, 70 Russians, 45 Serbs, 20 Bulgarians, 30 Georgians and 20 Romanians.
In this religion in Europe, they are orthodox, which means that they faithfully follow a style of doctrine that they fully comply with, but they follow the laws of Greece and the European Union, the only law that differentiates them is that they do not accept the entry of women.
Maltese Order: they are recognized by international law and subject to it. It is ruled by the grand master and prince Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto of Italian origin, he is also accepted by the Catholic religion and holds the position of Cardinal, but as he is the prince of royal blood and is the head of the sovereign State, he is considered a religious order constituting itself as a theocracy.
Faroe Island: Its official religion is the church of the Faroe Island, it is financed by the same government and the maximum head of the Republic, Prime Minister Aksel Johannesen, is the one who makes religion prevail on that Island through the Ministry of Culture.
Denmark: The supreme authority of the Danish people's church is governed by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, supreme authority, this being the state religion, while parliament exercises legislative authority, according to its constitution, they are the religion of the Evangelical Lutheran church established by the constitution and supported by the state.
Sweden: For the year 1523, King Gustav I of Sweden established the Church of Sweden that adopts the principles of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and currently King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is a believer in this religion as well as his prime minister Stefan Löfven, which also becomes a confessional state.
Greece: From the time of Emperor Constantine II of Greece to the present with the mandate of the former president named Prokopis Pavlopoulos, they continue to belong to the Orthodox Church of Greece, which is the religion of the State.
United Kingdom: are represented as the Anglican church, being its highest representative Queen Elizabeth II of England, in the United Kingdom the church has a legislative body named General Synod and the resolutions of this general synod must first be passed by the British parliament before they have royal assent and become part of English law.
Similarly, in the United Kingdom, the Anglican Church has its own judicial system, with the name of The Ecclesiastical Courts and are part of the British judiciary.
Ireland: To date, it has a Catholic faith exercised by the State and is chaired by Michael D. Higgins who is a faithful believer in the Catholic Church.
Monaco: According to its Constitution in article nine, the principality is Catholic, apostolic and Roman, being the State religion and directed by the Prince of Monaco Albert II of Monaco.
Liechtenstein: The main religion is Catholic and as its national church all religious interest is a priority for the government that is governed by its Prince of Liechtenstein John Adam II of Liechtenstein, as well as the regent Louis of Liechtenstein are Catholics.
Iceland: It has its own Icelandic church since the time of King Christian III of Denmark.
Armenian: the religion is governed by its president Armén Sarkissian as the prime minister Nikol Pashinian. It has an official status of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Turkey: both its president named Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and more than 90 percent of the population of that country is Muslim, and the majority is Sunni as the president of the nation himself has declared, the Hanafi school is directed by the State through an institution called Religious Affairs and controls all mosques and clerics of the Muslim religion.
Andorra: in the resolution of the country it is stated that they belong to the Catholic faith by which their free and public exercise is guaranteed and they maintain relations of maintenance with the State according to the tradition of the country. The Catholic Archbishop Joan-Enric Vives is the Co-Prince of Andorra.
Norway: it has its own Norwegian church exercised or controlled by King Harald V of Norway as Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
Netherlands: in the history of this country, the monarch and father of the country William of Orange helped the emergence of the Dutch reformed church where the Protestant church in the Netherlands is unified, and from there belongs the entire monarchy of which he is a faithful believer its prime minister named Mark Rutte.
Serbia: has its own Serbian Orthodox Church in a multi-denominational state, where the state is the administration of religion.
Luxembourg: It is a country where several religious confessions are recognized where the State is the administrator and guarantor but the religion of the religious ministers is influenced but its people are mostly Catholic, being the Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henry of Luxembourg of the Catholic Church and of the grand ducal family
Croatia: in this European country there is a mutual agreement between the State and the religion of other churches where certain religious privileges are granted, such as marriage and the obligation to teach religion to the state and the churches must also be financed by the prime minister of that country is Catholic.
Poland: Since 1993, a common agreement has been processed with the Holy See where certain privileges are granted to the Catholic Church, since the majority of the people are Catholic.
Germany: Although the country has the Catholic religion, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the daughter of a Lutheran pastor and she belongs to the Lutheran religion, in the same way the president of the nation Frank-Walter Steinmeier also belongs to the Evangelical Church in Germany.
. This country has an agreement with the Holy Catholic See signed in 1953 and ratified in 1979, where the Catholic Church is consecrated with many privileges as well as the contribution of money to various churches. King Felipe of Spain belongs to the Catholic religion
Cyprus: they have their own religion and church of Cyprus. Even its president Nikos Anastasiadis is also a great believer in that religion.
Switzerland: The cantons are like the political group of that country, and are empowered to make donations to the different churches in the country, but sometimes the church must pay a tax.
Azerbaijan: Its president İlham Əliyev is a Shiite Muslim
Romania: In that country most of their religion based on the doctrine of the Romanian Orthodox Church. President Klaus Iohannis also belongs to the Romanian Orthodox religion.
Austria: they have an agreement signed with the Catholic Holy See in 1933. Its president Alexander Van der Bellen is Lutheran, although Catholicism predominates: in fact, its chancellor Sebastian Kurz is Catholic.
France: It is a very Catholic country, and they also have an education program signed with the Holy Catholic See in 2008. Its president, Emmanuel Macron, and its prime minister, Édouard Philippe, are Catholic.
Finland: the majority of its people and its president Sauli Niinistö belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Moldova: Its president Igor Dodon belongs to the Romanian Orthodox Church. But the majority in the town is Catholic.
Republika Srpska: Majority Orthodox, its president Milorad Dodik belongs to the Orthodox Church of Serbia.
List of countries
After having explained a little about religion in Europe, it can be argued that there are too many, but the one that predominates is the Catholic religion, although Christianity is found in various branches of other religions. In the same way we put at your disposal a list of countries on the different religions they have.
- Albanian: Islam (56,7%).
- Germany: Protestantism (34%) and Catholicism (34%).
- Andorra: Catholicism (≈ 100%).
- Armenia: Armenian Apostolic Church (92,6%).
- Austria: Catholicism (73,6%).
- Azerbaijan: Islam (93,4%).
- Belgium: Catholicism (75%).
- Belarus: Orthodox Apostolic Catholic Church (80%).
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Islam (40%).
- Bulgaria: Orthodox Apostolic Catholic Church (59,4%).
- Cyprus: Orthodox Church of Greece (78%).
- Vatican City: Catholicism (100%).
- Croatia: Catholicism (86,3%).
- Denmark: Lutheranism (80%).
- Slovakia: Catholicism (62%).
- Slovenia: Catholicism (57,8%).
- Spain: Catholicism (94%).
- Estonia: Orthodox Apostolic Catholic Church (16,2%).
- Finland: Lutheranism (78,4%).
- France: Catholicism (≈ 85%).
- Georgia: Orthodox Apostolic Catholic Church (83,9%).
- Greece: Orthodox Church of Greece (98%).
- Hungary: Catholicism (37,2%).
- Ireland: Catholicism (84,7%).
- Iceland: Icelandic Lutheran Evangelical Lutheranism (76,2%).
- Italy: Catholicism (≈ 80%).
- Kazakhstan: Islam (70,2%).
- Latvia: Lutheranism (19,6%).
- Liechtenstein: Catholicism (75,9%).
- Lithuania: Catholicism (77,2%).
- Luxembourg: Catholicism (87%).
- Malta: Catholicism (98%).
- Moldova: Orthodox Apostolic Catholic Church (98%).
- Monaco: Catholicism (90%).
- Montenegro: Orthodox Apostolic Catholic Church (72,1%).
- Norway: Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway (82,1%).
- Netherlands: Catholicism (30%).
- Poland: Catholicism (86,9%).
- Portugal: Catholicism (81%).
- United Kingdom: Christianity (59,5%).
- Czech Republic: Catholicism (10,4%).
- Republic of Macedonia: Macedonian Orthodox Church (64,7%).
- Romania: Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church (81,9%).
- Russia: Russian Orthodox Church (approximately 17,5%).
- San Marino: Catholicism (% unknown).
- Serbia: Serbian Orthodox Church (84,6%).
- Sweden: Lutheranism (87%).
- Switzerland: Catholicism (38,2%).
- Turkey: Islam (99,8%). (The predominant one is Sunnism).
- Ukraine: Orthodox Apostolic Catholic Church (% unknown).
Conclusion on religions in Europe
In the old European continent, in religious aspects, it can be affirmed that out of every ten people, eight have religious and spiritual beliefs, more than 52 percent of the European population affirms that they believe in a God, and 27 percent of those surveyed say that there is a vital force and only 18 percent of the population of the European continent affirms that they do not believe in any god or spiritual forces. This is a study conducted in 2008.
Similarly, there are 28 countries on the European continent as well as countries that have joined the European Union such as Turkey, North Macedonia, Iceland and Montenegro, which have many citizens with many ideas and religious differences.
But the religion in Europe that predominates the most is Catholic, in the same way in countries such as Italy, Spain, France or Ireland, the Catholic religion predominates; but on the other hand, countries such as Sweden or Denmark predominate the Protestant religion, in others such as Greece the Orthodox religion and in others such as Turkey the Muslim religion.
In religion in Europe there is also a clear increase in people who are agnostics and atheists in the EU states which also varies depending on the state you are in. According to the Eurobarometer published in 2005, while only less than 2% of Turks and Maltese do not believe in the existence of God.
In what can be stated in this article about religion in Europe, is that the faith of Europeans is divided into three religions such as Catholicism, Protestantism and Christianity. That is why when we talk about religion in Europe we must talk about Catholicism.
Which is divided in the European continent and the schism of east and west in the eleventh century and later in the sixteenth century a reform is made to the protestant church and it becomes various denominations of Christianity. In this way, the Catholic religion is the main seat in Italy and has, at least according to the figures for 2008, the number of 236.197.142 Catholic faithful.
While the other religion in Europe is Protestantism, which was a group of people who claimed that the Catholic Church was making many theological errors, they decided to separate in the XNUMXth century, in what was called the Protestant Reformation.
The first thing that was decided to do was to deny the apostle Peter and this gave as a kick the denial of the entire succession of bishops who were in Rome. Similarly, most Protestants believe in the priesthood of believers and in salvation by faith and not by good works and the Bible as the supreme authority.
All this happened since Martin Luther presented to the Catholic Church a series of reforms where a Christian doctrine with a Protestant name emerged, in the same way Protestants believe only in revelation and in what is written, while Catholics are based on the scriptures and in two other currents that are the tradition and the magisterium.
To finish about the article on religion in Europe is that the two branches of Christianity that are Catholic and Protestant is that to be saved according to the Protestant religion you have to have faith, while the Catholic Church says that faith leads us to Salvation always linked to good works.
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