Religion in the European Union

The European Union has many different religions and beliefs. The largest group is Christian, making up most of the population. Other groups include those who follow Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, and some East Asian religions. There are also people who practice older European folk religions like Heathenism, Rodnovery, Romuva, and Druidry.

St. Peter's Basilica from Castel Sant'Angelo showing the dome rising behind Maderno's facade.

In recent years, fewer people in the EU have been practicing religion. Some countries, like France and the Czech Republic, have many people who do not believe in any god or spirit. But countries like Poland and Malta still have most people who believe in religion.

Belief in religion can change with age, gender, education, and political views. Older people, women, those with less education, and people with right-wing political views are more likely to believe in religion. This diversity makes the EU a place where many different beliefs and values come together.

Church and state

The European Union is a secular organization, meaning it does not favor any particular religion. There are no official ties to any religion in EU treaties. Some leaders, including the Pope, have suggested mentioning Christianity or God in important documents, but this has faced opposition from people who prefer a secular approach. As a result, the EU refers to its "Religious and Humanist inheritance."

Only a few countries in the EU, such as Denmark, Greece, and Malta, have an official state religion. The EU works with leaders from many different religions and also includes groups that do not follow any religion.

Secularisation

Atheism and agnosticism are becoming more common in Europe. Fewer people are going to church or joining religious groups. Some countries with fewer people who say they have no religion are France, the Czech Republic, Sweden, and the Netherlands. But places like Romania, Greece, and Malta still have many people who believe in religion.

Surveys show that fewer people in Europe believe in God now than before. For example, Romania had a big drop from 92% of people believing in 2010 to 64% in 2018. Similar drops happened in Greece, Poland, Italy, and Portugal. This is happening in all EU countries. In 2012, many babies were born to parents who were not married, especially in Estonia, Bulgaria, and France. These countries also tend to have fewer people who follow a religion.

Religiousness

Most countries in the European Union have fewer people going to church or saying they believe in a god. A survey in 2010 found that about half of people in EU countries said they believe in a god. About a quarter said they believe in some kind of spirit or life force. About one in five said they did not believe in any god or spirit.

The amount of belief changes a lot between different countries. Some places in Western Europe, like the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, have lower numbers of people who go to church or say they believe in a god. Even in places like Poland, where more people still go to church, the numbers have been going down in recent years.

Eurobarometer survey 2010
Country	"I believe there is a God"	"I believe there is some sort of spirit or life force"	"I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force"	"Declined to answer"
Malta	94%	4%	2%	0%
Romania	92%	7%	1%	0%
Cyprus	88%	8%	3%	1%
Greece	79%	16%	4%	1%
Poland	79%	14%	5%	2%
Italy	74%	20%	6%	0%
Ireland	70%	20%	7%	3%
Portugal	70%	15%	12%	3%
Croatia	69%	22%	7%	2%
Slovakia	63%	23%	13%	1%
Spain	59%	20%	19%	2%
Lithuania	47%	37%	12%	4%
Luxembourg	46%	22%	24%	8%
Hungary	45%	34%	20%	1%
Austria	44%	38%	12%	6%
Germany	44%	25%	27%	4%
Latvia	38%	48%	11%	3%
United Kingdom	37%	33%	25%	5%
Belgium	37%	31%	27%	5%
Bulgaria	36%	43%	15%	6%
Finland	33%	42%	22%	3%
Slovenia	32%	36%	26%	6%
Denmark	28%	47%	24%	1%
Netherlands	28%	39%	30%	3%
France	27%	27%	40%	6%
Estonia	18%	50%	29%	3%
Sweden	18%	45%	34%	3%
Czech Republic	16%	44%	37%	3%
EU28	51%	26%	20%	3%

Religious affiliation

Modern Paganism and Ethnic Religions

The European Union has many different religions. The biggest one is Christianity, which most people follow. There are also smaller groups like Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and Hinduism.

Some people in Europe follow Modern Paganism. These are groups that try to bring back old traditions from before Christianity. These groups are often called ethnic religions or Native Faiths. They see these traditions as important parts of their cultural history.

These Pagan groups work together through the European Congress of Ethnic Religions (ECER). They talk to important EU groups, like the European Parliament, to make sure their traditions are respected.

Different countries in Europe have different numbers of people who follow these Pagan traditions. In the United Kingdom, many people say they are Pagans. In Iceland, over 5,000 people follow a tradition called Ásatrúarfélagið. In Denmark and Sweden, some groups are recognized by the government.

In Central and Eastern Europe, many people are interested in reviving Baltic and Slavic traditions. In Lithuania, more than 5,000 people follow the Old Baltic Faith called Romuva. Similar groups exist in Latvia and Poland.

In Southern Europe, especially in Greece, people follow the Hellenic Ethnic Religion. In Italy, there are also groups that follow Roman Traditionalism, known as Religio Romana.

Eurobarometer survey 2015 – Religious affiliation in the EU
Region	Catholic	Orthodox	Protestant	Other Christian	Total Christians	Non-Believer / Agnostic	Atheist	Muslim
Austria	66.5%	2.2%	7.2%	1.9%	77.8%	15.4%	4.1%	1.5%
Belgium	52.9%	1.6%	2.1%	4.1%	60.7%	17.1%	14.9%	5.2%
Bulgaria	1.6%	83.3%	0.1%	0.8%	85.8%	3.3%	2.3%	7.7%
Cyprus	1.3%	96.3%	0.0%	0.8%	98.4%	1.1%	0.5%	0.0%
Croatia	84.2%	2.3%	0.2%	0.0%	86.7%	6.6%	3.6%	1.3%
Czech Republic	27.1%	0.2%	1.0%	3.2%	31.5%	38.6%	25.8%	0.0%
Denmark	1.2%	2.2%	60.0%	8.8%	72.2%	12.5%	13.2%	0.8%
Estonia	2.8%	23.2%	9.0%	23.6%	58.6%	16.6%	22.2%	0.2%
Finland	0.1%	2.0%	69.7%	7.4%	79.2%	12.7%	6.5%	0.5%
France	47.8%	0.6%	1.8%	4.1%	54.3%	17.6%	22.8%	3.3%
Western Germany	37.1%	0.6%	36.5%	7.2%	81.4%	6.7%	7.4%	2.8%
Eastern Germany	7.1%	2.1%	19.2%	8.8%	37.2%	27.0%	34.1%	0.0%
Total Germany	31.1%	0.9%	33.1%	7.5%	72.6%	10.7%	12.8%	2.2%
Greece	0.4%	92.9%	0.1%	1.0%	94.4%	1.9%	1.6%	1.2%
Hungary	60.3%	1.1%	5.1%	8.1%	74.6%	18.5%	2.7%	0.3%
Ireland	80.7%	0.7%	1.8%	4.3%	87.5%	5.8%	4.6%	0.8%
Italy	77.8%	4.9%	0.6%	1.3%	84.6%	8.1%	4.3%	0.1%
Latvia	26.2%	24.0%	16.6%	9.9%	76.7%	17.3%	4.7%	1.2%
Lithuania	87.7%	3.6%	0.5%	0.9%	92.7%	4.2%	2.6%	0.0%
Luxembourg	64.8%	3.5%	3.6%	0.7%	69.8%	11.2%	10.3%	2.1%
Malta	95.0%	0.3%	0.2%	0.4%	95.9%	1.1%	3.0%	0.0%
Netherlands	21.9%	1.9%	17.8%	6.2%	47.8%	39.6%	9.2%	1.4%
Poland	90.7%	0.2%	1.0%	0.4%	92.3%	2.2%	3.6%	0.2%
Portugal	85.8%	0.2%	1.1%	1.6%	88.7%	8.2%	2.3%	0.1%
Romania	5.3%	89.9%	3.4%	1.0%	99.6%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
Slovakia	73.1%	2.2%	6.2%	2.2%	83.7%	5.0%	7.4%	0.0%
Slovenia	66.6%	0.9%	1.5%	0.2%	69.2%	6.6%	16.5%	2.7%
Spain	64.2%	1.4%	0.8%	2.2%	68.6%	17.0%	10.9%	0.6%
Sweden	1.6%	0.9%	36.5%	8.6%	47.6%	31.0%	19.0%	1.2%
Great Britain	12.7%	9.6%	14.7%	19.2%	56.2%	20.6%	11.8%	4.7%
Northern Ireland	33.3%	1.3%	14.7%	42.4%	91.7%	7.6%	2.4%	0.7%
EU28	45.3%	9.6%	11.1%	5.6%	71.6%	13.6%	10.4%	1.8%

Diversity

The European Union has many different religions. The largest group is Christian. There are also Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and some East Asian religions. France and Germany have the largest Muslim populations in western Europe.

Judaism has a long history in Europe, going back to the Roman Empire. Today, there are still Jewish communities in places like France and the United Kingdom.

In the 1960s and 1970s, many Hindus moved to Europe from places like India and East Africa. The Netherlands welcomed many Hindus. Some came from Suriname, a former Dutch colony. Today, there are Hindus living in the European Union.

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