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Home Research Topics Religion Religions Christianity
Pew Research CenterMay 23, 2018
Being Christian in Western Europe

Christian identity in Europe remains a religious, social and cultural marker

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Christian identity in Europe remains a religious, social and cultural marker

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Being Christian in Western Europe
In most Western European countries, non-practicing Christians are largest group
Majorities across Western Europe identify as Christian
Christian identity in Europe remains a religious, social and cultural marker
Most non-practicing Christians in Europe believe in God, but not necessarily as described in the Bible
Most religiously unaffiliated Europeans say science makes religion unnecessary
Christians more likely than religiously unaffiliated to say government should support religious values and beliefs
Majorities of non-practicing Christians say churches and other religious organizations play an important role in helping poor and needy
Christians more likely than ‘nones’ to say Islam is incompatible with national values % who say, “Islam is fundamentally incompatible with our country’s culture and values”
Non-practicing Christians more likely than unaffiliated to favor reducing immigration levels
Both church-attending and non-practicing Christians more likely than unaffiliated to link national identity with ancestry
In Western Europe, both church-attending and non-practicing Christians are more likely than unaffiliated to say their culture is superior
Unaffiliated adults and non-practicing Christians generally favor legal abortion, same-sex marriage
Catholics more likely than Protestants to express negative views of Muslims
In Western Europe, net losses for Christians are largely matched by gains for religiously unaffiliated
In several Western European countries, recent declines in Christian identity
Share of ‘nones’ in Western Europe ranges from 15% in Ireland, Italy and Portugal to 48% in the Netherlands
Substantial shares across the region say they are atheist, agnostic or have no particular religion
Many unaffiliated adults in Western Europe were raised Christian
Most Western Europeans who stopped identifying with a religion ‘gradually drifted away,’ among other reasons
Religiously unaffiliated adults who were raised as Christians are more accepting of Muslims as neighbors
Roughly three-in-ten unaffiliated people report believing in some higher power
A majority of unaffiliated believers agree they have a soul as well as a physical body
Most unaffiliated adults say science makes religion unnecessary in their life
Compared with U.S. adults, relatively few Western European Christians and religiously unaffiliated people are religiously observant
In contrast with U.S., Western Europeans tend to describe themselves as neither spiritual nor religious
Most Western Europeans continue to identify as Christians, though few regularly attend church

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