Gallup survey 2008–2009

During 2008–2009, a Gallup survey asked in several countries the question "Is religion important in your daily life?" The table and map below shows percentage of people who answered "Yes" to the question.^[11][12]

Results of a 2008/2009 Gallup survey on whether respondents said that religion was "important in [their] daily life."^[11][12]

	0%–9%
	10%–19% (Estonia, Sweden, Denmark)
	20%–29% (Norway, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Finland)
	30%–39% (France, Netherlands, Belgium, Bulgaria, Russia, Belarus, Luxembourg, Hungary, Albania, Latvia)
	40%–49% (Germany, Switzerland, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain)
	50%–59% (Azerbaijan, Serbia, Ireland, Austria)
	60%–69%
	70%–79% (Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Cyprus, North Macedonia)
	80%–89% (Turkey, Romania, Malta, Armenia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
	90%–100% (Kosovo, Georgia)
	No data

Importance of Religion in Europe by Gallup Poll (2008–2009)[11][12] Country Percentage  Estonia   16%  Sweden   17%  Denmark   19%  Norway   21%  Czech Republic   21%  United Kingdom   27%  Finland   28%  France   30%  Netherlands   33%  Belgium   33%  Bulgaria   34%  Russia   34%  Belarus   34%  Luxembourg   39%  Hungary   39%  Albania   39%  Latvia   39%  Germany   40%   Switzerland   41%  Lithuania   42%  Kazakhstan   43%  Ukraine   46%  Slovenia   47%  Slovakia   47%  Spain   49%  Azerbaijan   50%  Serbia   54%  Ireland   54%  Austria   55%  Croatia   70%  Montenegro   71%  Greece   71%  Portugal   72%  Italy   72%  Poland   75%  Cyprus   75%  Romania   76%  Bosnia and Herzegovina   80%  Turkey   82%  Malta   86%  Moldova   88%  Armenia   89%  Kosovo   90%  Georgia   90%

During 2007–2008, a Gallup poll asked in several countries the question "Does religion occupy an important place in your life?" The table on right shows percentage of people who answered "No".^[13]

Lack of Importance of Religion in Europe by Gallup poll (2007–2008)
Country			Percentage
Estonia			84%
Sweden			83%
Denmark			80%
Norway			78%
Azerbaijan			74%
Czech Republic			74%
France			73%
United Kingdom			71%
Finland			69%
Netherlands			66%
Belarus			65%
Russia			63%
Albania			63%
Bulgaria			62%
Latvia			62%
Belgium			61%
Hungary			59%
Slovenia			59%
Spain			59%
Germany			57%
Switzerland			56%
Ukraine			54%
Lithuania			52%
Slovakia			51%
Austria			42%
Ireland			42%
Romania			31%
Serbia			31%
Croatia			30%
Greece			30%
Portugal			27%
Montenegro			27%
Italy			26%
Cyprus			24%
Poland			23%
Bosnia and Herzegovina			19%
North Macedonia			19%
Malta			18%
Moldova			11%
Armenia			10%
Turkey			9%
Georgia			9%

Eurobarometer survey 2010

Largest (non-)religious group by EU member state^[14] according to Eurobarometer survey 2010.^[2]

  More than 75% Catholic

  50–75% Catholic

  Relative Catholic majority

  50–75% Protestant

  More than 75% Orthodox

  50–75% non-religious

  Relative non-religious majority

  More than 75% Muslim

The 2010 Eurobarometer survey^[2] found that, on average, 51% of the citizens of the EU member states state that they "believe there is a God", 26% "believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" while 20% "don't 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 French people declared themselves as agnostics in 2003. This situation is often called "Post-Christian Europe". A decrease in religiousness and church attendance in Denmark, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden has been noted, despite a concurrent increase in some countries like Greece (2% in 1 year). The Eurobarometer survey must be taken with caution, however, as there are discrepancies between it and national census results. For example, in the United Kingdom, the 2001 census revealed over 70% of the population regarded themselves as "Christian" with only 15% professing to have "no religion", though the wording of the question has been criticized as "leading" by the British Humanist Association.^[15] Romania, one of the most religious countries in Europe, witnessed a threefold increase in the number of atheists between 2002 and 2011, as revealed by the most recent national census.^[16]

Eurobarometer survey 2005 chart results

The following is a list of European countries ranked by religiosity, based on the rate of belief, according to the Eurobarometer survey 2010.^[2] The 2010 Eurobarometer survey asked whether the person "believes there is a God", "believes there is some sort of spirit or life force", or "doesn't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".

Eurobarometer survey 2010^[2]

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"
Malta	94%	4%	2%
Romania	93%	6%	1%
Cyprus	88%	8%	3%
Poland	79%	14%	5%
Greece	79%	16%	4%
Italy	74%	20%	6%
Ireland	70%	20%	7%
Portugal	70%	15%	12%
Slovakia	63%	23%	13%
Spain	59%	20%	19%
Lithuania	47%	37%	12%
Luxembourg	46%	22%	24%
Hungary	45%	34%	20%
Austria	44%	38%	12%
Germany	44%	25%	27%
Latvia	38%	48%	11%
United Kingdom	37%	33%	25%
Belgium	37%	31%	27%
Bulgaria	36%	43%	15%
Finland	33%	42%	22%
Slovenia	32%	36%	26%
Denmark	28%	47%	24%
Netherlands	28%	39%	30%
France	27%	27%	40%
Estonia	18%	50%	29%
Sweden	18%	45%	34%
Czech Republic	16%	44%	37%
EU27	51%	26%	20%
Turkey (EUCU, not EU)	94%	1%	1%
Croatia (joined EU in 2013)	69%	22%	7%
Switzerland (EFTA, not EU)	44%	39%	11%
Iceland (EFTA, not EU)	31%	49%	18%
Norway (EFTA, not EU)	22%	44%	29%

The decrease in theism is illustrated in the 1981 and 1999 according to the World Values Survey,^[17] both for traditionally strongly theist countries (Spain: 86.8%:81.1%; Ireland 94.8%:93.7%) and for traditionally secular countries (Sweden: 51.9%:46.6%; France 61.8%:56.1%; Netherlands 65.3%:58.0%). Some countries nevertheless show increase of theism over the period, Italy 84.1%:87.8%, Denmark 57.8%:62.1%. For a comprehensive study on Europe, see Mattei Dogan's "Religious Beliefs in Europe: Factors of Accelerated Decline" in Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion.

Eurobarometer survey 2019

Largest (non-)religious group by EU member state according to Eurobarometer survey 2019.^[19]

  More than 75% Catholic

  50–75% Catholic

  Relative Catholic majority

  50–75% Protestant

  More than 75% Orthodox

  50–75% non-religious

  Relative non-religious majority

  30% Catholic, 30% non-religious (Germany)

According to the 2019 Eurobarometer survey about Religiosity in the European Union Christianity is the largest religion in the European Union accounting 64% of the EU population,^[18] down from 72% in 2012.^[20] Catholics are the largest Christian group in EU, accounting for 41% of EU population, while Eastern Orthodox make up 10%, and Protestants make up 9%, and other Christians account for 4% of the EU population. Non believer/Agnostic account 17%, Atheist 10%, and Muslim 2% of the EU population. 3% refuse to answer or didn't know.^[18]

Eurobarometer survey 2019^[18]

Country	"Atheist"	"Non believer/Agnostic"	"Atheist + Non believer/Agnostic"
Romania	2%	2%	4%
Malta	2%	2%	4%
Cyprus	3%	4%	7%
Poland	5%	4%	9%
Lithuania	3%	6%	9%
Greece	7%	4%	11%
Slovakia	6%	5%	11%
Croatia	6%	5%	11%
Portugal	4%	8%	12%
Ireland	7%	7%	14%
Italy	5%	9%	14%
Bulgaria	8%	7%	15%
Austria	4%	12%	16%
Slovenia	14%	4%	18%
Latvia	6%	13%	19%
Hungary	3%	17%	20%
Denmark	9%	13%	22%
Finland	10%	14%	24%
Luxembourg	10%	16%	26%
Germany	9%	21%	30%
Belgium	10%	21%	31%
Spain	12%	20%	32%
United Kingdom	19%	20%	39%
France	21%	19%	40%
Estonia	21%	27%	48%
Sweden	16%	34%	50%
Netherlands	11%	41%	52%
Czech Republic	22%	34%	56%
EU28	10%	17%	27%

Pew Research Poll

According to the 2012 Global Religious Landscape survey by the Pew Research Center, 75.2% of the Europe residents are Christians, 18.2% are irreligious, atheist or agnostic, 5.9% are Muslims and 0.2% are Jews, 0.2% are Hindus, 0.2% are Buddhist, and 0.1% adhere to other religions.^[21] According to the 2015 Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe survey by the Pew Research Center, 57.9% of the Central and Eastern Europeans identified as Orthodox Christians,^[22] and according to a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center, 71.0% of Western Europeans identified as Christians, 24.0% identified as religiously unaffiliated and 5% identified as adhere to other religions.^[23] According to the same study a large majority (83%) of those who were raised as Christians in Western Europe still identify as such, and the remainder mostly self-identify as religiously unaffiliated.^[23]

Pew Research Poll

Pew Research Poll 2015^[22]

Country	Affiliated Orthodox, Catholic or Muslim (poll 1)	Unaffiliated (poll 1)	Other/DK/ref (poll 1)*	"Believe in God, absolutely certain" (poll 2)**	"Believe in God, fairly certain" (poll 2)**	"Believe in God, not too/at all certain" (poll 2)**	"Do not believe in God" (Poll 2)**	Atheist (poll 3)***	Agnostic (poll 3)***	Nothing in particular (poll 3)***
Armenia	97	2	1	94	2	1	2	1		1
Georgia	99	<1	1	93	2	2	1			<1
Bosnia and Herzegovina	96	3	1	90	3	2	3	2	1
Moldova	95	2	3	89	4	3	3	1		1
Romania	91	1	8	64	28	2	4			1
Serbia	94	4	1	73	16	3	5	2	1	1
Croatia	90	7	3	72	14	5	5	4	2	1
Greece	92	4	4	69	16	7	6	3		1
Poland	88	7	5	45	35	5	8	2	1	4
Lithuania	78	6	17	34	34	7	11	2		4
Ukraine	88	7	5	32	45	6	9	3		4
Bulgaria	91	5	4	30	40	7	17	2	1	2
Latvia	54	21	25	28	34	7	15	3		18
Belarus	86	3	11	26	47	11	9	2		1
Hungary	57	21	22	26	26	7	30	5		16
Russia	81	15	4	25	38	10	15	4	1	10
Czech Republic	22	72	6	13	13	3	66	25	1	46
Estonia	26	45	29	13	24	7	45	9	1	35

(*) 13% of respondents in Hungary identify as Presbyterian. In Estonia and Latvia, 20% and 19%, respectively, identify as Lutherans. And in Lithuania, 14% say they are "just a Christian" and do not specify a particular denomination. They are included in the "other" category.
(**) Identified as "don't know/refused" from the "other/idk/ref" column are excluded from this statistic.
(***) Figures may not add to subtotals due to rounding.

Pew research poll in 2017 ** ^[24]

Country	A holy book (e.g. Bible) is written by men, not the word of God	A holy book is the word of God
Georgia	9%	88%
Armenia	9%	87%
Moldova	10%	87%
Bosnia and Herzegovina	14%	81%
Romania	18%	76%
Ukraine	21%	63%
Poland	24%	61%
Serbia	28%	59%
Greece	28%	58%
Croatia	29%	58%
Russia	30%	58%
Belarus	27%	57%
Bulgaria	41%	43%
Lithuania	43%	42%
Hungary	41%	41%
Latvia	38%	40%
Estonia	58%	26%
Czech Republic	65%	21%

(**) Identified with answers "don't know/refused" are not shown.

Bahá'í Faith

Bahá'í House of Worship, Langenhain, Germany

The first newspaper reference to the religious movement began with coverage of the Báb, whom Bahá'ís consider the forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith, which occurred in The Times on 1 November 1845, only a little over a year after the Báb first started his mission.^[25] British, Russian, and other diplomats, businessmen, scholars, and world travelers also took note of the precursor Bábí religion^[26] most notably in 1865 by Frenchman Arthur de Gobineau who wrote the first and most influential account. In April 1890 Edward G. Browne of Cambridge University met Bahá'u'lláh, the prophet-founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and left the only detailed description by a Westerner.^[27]

Starting in the 1890s Europeans began to convert to the religion. In 1910 Bahá'u'lláh's son and appointed successor, 'Abdu'l-Bahá embarked on a three-year journey to including Europe and North America^[28] and then wrote a series of letters that were compiled together in the book titled Tablets of the Divine Plan which included mention of the need to spread the religion in Europe following the war.^[29]

A 1925 list of "leading local Bahá'í Centres" of Europe listed organized communities of many countries – the largest being in Germany.^[30] However the religion was soon banned in a couple of countries: in 1937 Heinrich Himmler disbanded the Bahá'í Faith's institutions in Germany because of its 'international and pacifist tendencies'^[31] and in Russia in 1938 "monstrous accusations" against Bahá'ís and a Soviet government policy of oppression of religion resulted in Bahá'í communities in 38 cities across Soviet territories ceasing to exist.^[32] However the religion recovered in both countries. The religion has generally spread such that in recent years the Association of Religion Data Archives estimated the Bahá'ís in European countries to number in hundreds to tens of thousands.^[33]

Christianity

Christianity in Europe by percentage (2010).^[34]

View of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the largest European Roman Catholic Church

Cathedral of Saint Sava in Serbia is the largest Orthodox church in the world

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia is one of the largest Orthodox cathedrals

The St John's Church, Bergen is a Lutheran church in Norway

Calvinist Temple Saint-Étienne (Protestant St. Stephen's Church) in France

The majority of Europeans describe themselves as Christians, divided into a large number of denominations.^[1] Christian denominations are usually classed in three categories: Catholicism (consider only two groups, the Roman-Latin Catholic and the Eastern Greek and Armenian Catholics), Orthodoxy (consider only two groups, the Eastern Byzantine Orthodox and the Armenian Apostolic which is within the Oriental Orthodox Church) and Protestantism (a diverse group including Lutheranism, Calvinism and Anglicanism as well as numerous minor denominations, including Baptists, Methodism, Evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, etc.).

Christianity, more specifically the Catholic Church, which played an important part in the shaping of Western civilization since at least the 4th century.^[35][36] Historically, Europe has been the center and "cradle of Christian civilization".^{[37][38][39][40]}

European culture, throughout most of its recent history, has been heavily influenced by Christian belief and has been nearly equivalent to Christian culture.^[41] The Christian culture was one of the more dominant forces to influence Western civilization, concerning the course of philosophy, art, music, science, social structure and architecture.^[41][42] The civilizing influence of Christianity includes social welfare,^[43] founding hospitals,^[44] economics (as the Protestant work ethic),^[45][46] politics,^[47] architecture,^[48] literature^[49] and family life.^[50]

Christianity is still the largest religion in Europe.^[51] According to a survey about Religiosity in the European Union in 2019 by Eurobarometer, Christianity was the largest religion in the European Union accounting 64% of EU population,^[18] down from 72% in 2012.^[20] Catholics were the largest Christian group in EU, and accounted for 41% of the EU population, while Eastern Orthodox made up 10%, Protestants made up 9%, and other Christians 4%.^[18] According to a 2010 study by the Pew Research Center, 76.2% of the European population identified themselves as Christians,^[52] constitute in absolute terms the world's largest Christian population.^[53]

According to Scholars, in 2017, Europe's population was 77.8% Christian (up from 74.9% 1970),^[54][55] these changes were largely result of the collapse of Communism and switching to Christianity in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries.^[54]

Islam

Birmingham Central Mosque, the first mosque in the United Kingdom to use loudspeakers to broadcast the adhan.^[57]

Islam came to parts of European islands and coasts on the Mediterranean Sea during the 8th-century Muslim conquests. In the Iberian Peninsula and parts of southern France, various Muslim states existed before the Reconquista; Islam spread in southern Italy briefly through the Emirate of Sicily and Emirate of Bari. During the Ottoman expansion, Islam was spread from into the Balkans and even part of Central Europe. Muslims have also been historically present in Ukraine (Crimea and vicinity, with the Crimean Tatars), as well as modern-day Russia, beginning with Volga Bulgaria in the 10th century and the conversion of the Golden Horde to Islam. In recent years, Muslims have migrated to Europe as residents and temporary workers.

According to the Pew Forum, the total number of Muslims in Europe in 2010 was about 44 million (6%).^[58] While the total number of Muslims in the European Union in 2007 was about 16 million (3.2%).^[59] Data from the 2000s for the rates of growth of Islam in Europe showed that the growing number of Muslims was due primarily to immigration and higher birth rates.^[60]

Muslims make up 99% of the population in Turkey,^[61] Northern Cyprus,^[62][63] 96% in Kosovo,^[64] 56% in Albania,^[65][66] 51% in Bosnia and Herzegovina,^[67] 32.17% in North Macedonia,^[68][69] 20% in Montenegro,^[70] between 10 and 15% in Russia,^[71] 7–9% in France,^[72][73][74] 8% in Bulgaria,^[75] 6% in the Netherlands, 5% in Denmark, United Kingdom and Germany,^[76][77][78] just over 4% in Switzerland and Austria, and between 3 and 4% in Greece.

A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2016 found that Muslims make up 4.9% of all of Europe's population.^[79] According to a same study conversion does not add significantly to the growth of the Muslim population in Europe, with roughly 160,000 more people leaving Islam than converting into Islam between 2010 and 2016.^[79]

Judaism

The Jubilee Synagogue in Prague, Czech Republic

The Jews were dispersed within the Roman Empire from the 2nd century.^[80] At one time Judaism was practiced widely throughout the European continent; throughout the Middle Ages, Jews were accused of ritual murder and faced pogroms and legal discrimination. The Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany decimated the Jewish population, and today, France is home to the largest Jewish community in Europe with 1% of the total population (between 483,000 and 500,000 Jews).^[81][82] Other European countries with notable Jewish populations include the United Kingdom (291,000 Jews),^[82] Germany (119,000), and Russia (194,000) which is home to Eastern Europe's largest Jewish community.^[82] The Jewish population of Europe in 2010 was estimated to be approximately 1.4 million (0.2% of European population) or 10% of the world’s Jewish population.^[83]

Atheism and agnosticism

During the late 20th and early 21st centuries, atheism and agnosticism have increased, with falling church attendance and membership in various European countries.^[95] The 2010 Eurobarometer survey found that on total average, of the EU28 population, 51% "believe there is a God", 26% "believe there is some sort of spirit or life force", and 20% "don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".^[2] Across the EU, belief was higher among women, increased with age, those with a strict upbringing, those with the lowest level of formal education and those leaning towards right-wing politics.^{[90]: 10–11} Results were varied widely between different countries.^[2]

According to a survey measuring religious identification in the European Union in 2019 by Eurobarometer, 10% of EU citizens identify themselves as atheists.^[18] As of May 2019, the top seven European countries with the most people who viewed themselves as atheists were Czech Republic (22%), France (21%), Sweden (16%), Estonia (15%), Slovenia (14%), Spain (12%) and Netherlands (11%).^[18] 17% of EU citizens called themselves non-believers or agnostics and this percentage was the highest in Netherlands (41%), Czech Republic (34%), Sweden (34%), United Kingdom (28%), Estonia (23%), Germany (21%) and Spain (20%).^[18]

Germanic

Heathenism or Esetroth (Icelandic: Ásatrú), and the organised form Odinism, are names for the modern folk religion of the Germanic nations.

In the United Kingdom Census 2001, 300 people registered as Heathen in England and Wales.^[96] However, many Heathens followed the advice of the Pagan Federation (PF) and simply described themselves as "Pagan", while other Heathens did not specify their religious beliefs.^[96] In the 2011 census, 1,958 people self-identified as Heathen in England and Wales. A further 251 described themselves as Reconstructionist and may include some people reconstructing Germanic paganism.^[97]

Ásatrúarfélagið (Esetroth Fellowship) was recognized as an official religion by the Icelandic government in 1973. For its first 20 years it was led by farmer and poet Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson. By 2003, it had 777 members,^[98] and by 2014, it had 2,382 members, corresponding to 0.8% of Iceland's population.^[99] In Iceland, Germanic religion has an impact larger than the number of its adherents.^[100]

In Sweden, the Swedish Forn Sed Assembly (Forn Sed, or the archaic Forn Siðr, means "Old Custom") was formed in 1994 and is since 2007 recognized as a religious organization by the Swedish government. In Denmark Forn Siðr was formed in 1999, and was officially recognized in 2003^[101] The Norwegian Åsatrufellesskapet Bifrost (Esetroth Fellowship Bifrost) was formed in 1996; as of 2011, the fellowship has some 300 members. Foreningen Forn Sed was formed in 1999, and has been recognized by the Norwegian government as a religious organization. In Spain there is the Odinist Community of Spain – Ásatrú.

Roman

The Roman polytheism also known as Religio Romana (Roman religion) in Latin or the Roman Way to the Gods (in Italian 'Via romana agli Déi') is alive in small communities and loosely related organizations, mainly in Italy.

Druidry

The religious development of Druidry was largely influenced by Iolo Morganwg.^[102] Modern practises aim to imitate the practises of the Celtic peoples of the Iron Age.^[103]

Buddhism

Buddhism is thinly spread throughout Europe, and the fastest growing religion in recent years^[113][114] with about 3 million adherents.^[115][116] In Kalmykia, Tibetan Buddhism is prevalent.^[117]

Hinduism

Mandir in Gibraltar.

Hinduism is mainly practised among Indian immigrants. It has been growing rapidly in recent years, notably in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Italy.^[118][119] In 2010, there were an estimated 1.4 million Hindu adherents in Europe.^[120]

Jainism

Jain temple in Antwerp, Belgium

Jainism, small membership rolls, mainly among Indian immigrants in Belgium and the United Kingdom, as well as several converts from western and northern Europe.^[121][122]

Sikhism

Sikhism has nearly 700,000 adherents in Europe. Most of the community live in United Kingdom (450,000) and Italy (100,000).^[123][124] Around 10,000 Sikhs live in Belgium and France.^[125] Netherlands and Germany have a Sikh population of 22,000.^[126][127] All other countries, such as Greece, have 5,000 or fewer Sikhs.