Christianity in the Occident - still of great importance

IThe International Religion Monitor has found the Christian faith to be of great importance in Europe, yet striking religious differences exist between the individual European countries

According to a representative study by the Bertelsmann Stiftung's Religion Monitor, the Christian faith still has a strong influence in Europe. Three-fourth of all Europeans (74 percent) in the countries surveyed are religious and one-fourth (25 percent) are highly religious. Only 23 percent of Europeans are non-religious. Thanks to this interdisciplinary measuring instrument, it was possible to ascertain both religious variety as well as the intensity of religious attitudes and practices. Striking differences were registered between the individual European countries, influenced heavily by national traditions. The Religion Monitor supplies directly comparable data for the seven European countries of Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Austria, Poland and Switzerland. In this comparison, faith and religion are most strongly rooted in Italy (89 percent) and Poland (87 percent) and most weakly rooted in secular France (54 percent).

Active religious practice Even though the degree of intensity may vary, religiousness does have an influence on individuals and society in all countries covered in the study. This pertains foremost to the handling of important events and issues such as birth and death or the meaning of life. Religiousness has the smallest degree of influence over the areas of politics and sexuality. Many Europeans have expressly separated their conduct and attitudes in these two areas from their religious beliefs. A total of 58 percent of Europeans state that their religious convictions have no influence or minimal influence on their political viewpoints. Europeans are similarly reluctant to let faith and religion affect their sexuality, or at least so say 48 percent.
Religion nevertheless plays such a key role in the everyday lives of Europeans that more than half (57 percent) of them practice their faith and participate in religious services more or less regularly. 61 percent state that they engage in prayer.

Religious differences As is the case for level of religiousness in general, strong differences are evident in the religious practices in the individual European countries. The Religion Monitor found the share of those who visit churches once a week or regularly to be greatest in Poland (public religious practice: 64 percent high; 26 percent medium). Attending church services is also part of normal life for the large majority of Italians (49 percent high; 26 percent medium). Germany (17 percent high; 27 percent medium) and France (16 percent high; 29 percent medium) came in last here.

Young adults are not less religious The importance of religion in everyday life and corresponding attitudes among Europeans are relatively constant across generational lines. Young adults, for example, are not any less likely than the population as a whole to believe in God/the divine and the afterlife. Among young people ages 18 to 29, 41 percent hold strong beliefs in this respect and 30 percent beliefs of medium intensity. The corresponding figures for the population as a whole are 42 percent and 27 percent respectively. Just as in the population as a whole, 26 percent of the youngest age group surveyed reject these concepts completely or almost completely.

Catholics more religious than Protestants The Catholic faith is more deeply rooted in the European countries surveyed than the Protestant faith. This difference is more qualitative than quantitative in nature. In a comparison of Catholics and Protestants, the share of religious believers varies only marginally: 85 percent of the Catholics and 81 percent of Protestants were classified as religious. However, large differences were found in the intensity of their religious beliefs. While 33 percent of Catholics can be regarded as highly religious, this figure is only 18 percent among Protestants. Furthermore, the share of those who officially belong to a church yet are not truly religious is 11 percent among Catholics and 16 percent among Protestants.

Religious non-denominationals The Religion Monitor found that, just as there are non-religious Christians, there are also religious non-denominationals. 68 percent of non-denominationals are simultaneously non-religious. However, 27 percent or slightly more than one-fourth of this large group is classified as religious. According the categories established by the Religion Monitor, a small segment of this group (3 percent) is in fact highly religious.

Panel discussion in Brussels Based on the results of the study, a panel of renowned participants will be discussing the topic of "How Religious is Europe? Implications for Politics, Churches and Society" on September 17. Cardinal Peter Erdö (Budapest), Dr. Dieter Heidtmann (Brussels), Professor Matthias Koenig (Göttingen), Hamideh Mohagheghi (Berlin) and Professor Hans-Georg Ziebertz (Würzburg) have already accepted the invitation to participate. Dr. Ingo Friedrich, Member of Bureau (Quaestor) of the European Parliament, will be moderating the discussion.