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Religious belonging and religious demography

Catholicism continues to decline in Europe but is growing in the rest of the world

D 2 November 2021

Religious sentiment and practice in Europe according to the 2017 EVS survey

The survey shows large variations within Europe. People who say they believe in God almost always outnumber those who consider themselves religious. In general, the survey confirms the (...)

The survey shows large variations within Europe. People who say they believe in God almost always outnumber those who consider themselves religious. In general, the survey confirms the disconnection between belief and practice. Indeed, the number of people attending a religious service at least once a week is much lower than the number of people who consider themselves religious.
The country with the fewest people who consider themselves religious is Sweden, while Georgia has the most. The same applies to belief in God. On the other hand, Denmark has the lowest weekly attendance at a religious service and Poland has the highest.

Country	People who consider themselves religious (%)	People who believe in God (%)	People who attend a religious service at least once a week (%)
Sweden	27,40	36,13	5,23
Estonia	35,47	45,70	3,74
Czech Republic	35,79	38,35	6,52
United Kingdom	37,36	48,44	11,27
Norway	37,64	47,31	5,60
France	41,51	53,67	7,90
Netherlands	43,60	43,66	10,65
Switzerland	47,93	67,20	8,19
Spain	48,67	68,01	16,98
Finland	50,98	56,71	4,65
Denmark	54,40	50,82	2,54
Germany	54,61	63,35	8,78
Island	54,66	61,20	2,62
Hungaria	54,92	71,04	10,32
Austria	60,70	73,69	13,09
Ukraine	64,60	84,09	22,05
Bulgaria	65,13	79,41	8,83
Slovenia	68,85	60,88	15,29
Portugal	71	84,92	17,58
Slovakia	71,99	72,77	26,73
Turkey	72,15	95,32	36,77
Russia	76,16	77,25	7,76
Italy	77,65	84,36	27,30
Serbia	80,02	84,08	8,15
Albania	80,47	97,06	9,04
Croatia	83,85	85,27	21,90
Lithuania	84,82	84,76	13,86
Romania	85,20	97,19	30,34
Macedonia	85,57	95,52	25,33
Poland	85,92	93,37	47,70
Bosnia-Herzegovina	86,83	95,98	29,50
Montenegro	88,25	96,12	16,21
Azerbaijan	90,76	98,54	6,82
Armenia	92,37	91,95	19,29
Georgia	95,52	98,67	19,95

The results can be consulted in the form of an interactive map.

D 5 October 2021 ARomain Mertens

Europe’s young adults and religion (2014-2016)

A report from the collaboration between the Catholic Institute of Paris and St Mary’s University in London analyses data from the two most recent waves (2014 and 2016) of the European Social (...)

A report from the collaboration between the Catholic Institute of Paris and St Mary’s University in London analyses data from the two most recent waves (2014 and 2016) of the European Social Survey, exploring religious affiliation and practice of 16-29 year-olds in 21 European countries and Israel.
In 12 out of the 22 twenty-two countries, over half of young adults claim not to identify with any particular religion or denomination. In only four countries do more than one-in-ten 16-29 year-olds claim to attend religious services on at least a weekly basis.
A focus is on young people identifying themselves as Catholics on the one hand, and on the comparison between France and the United Kingdom on the other.

See the report (pdf) : Stephen Bullivant, Europe’s Young Adults and Religion, March 2018.

D 24 April 2018

Religiosity in Europe, 2014

According to the Gallup international study 2014, question "Are you a religious person": A religious person Not a religious person A convinced atheist Do not know / no response Poland 86% (...)

According to the Gallup international study 2014, question "Are you a religious person":

	A religious person	Not a religious person	A convinced atheist	Do not know / no response
Poland	86%	10%	2%	2%
Turkey	79%	13%	2%	6%
Romania	77%	16%	1%	6%
Italy	74%	18%	6%	3%
Greece	71%	15%	6%	8%
Russia	70%	18%	5%	8%
Portugal	60%	28%	9%	2%
Bulgaria	52%	36%	3%	8%
Ireland	45%	41%	10%	5%
Belgium	44%	30%	18%	7%
Denmark	42%	40%	12%	7%
France	40%	35%	18%	7%
Latvia	40%	41%	9%	10%
Austria	39%	44%	10%	6%
Switzerland	38%	46%	12%	4%
Spain	37%	35%	20%	8%
Germany	34%	42%	17%	7%
UK	30%	53%	13%	4%
Netherlands	26%	51%	15%	8%
Czech Republic	23%	45%	30%	2%
Sweden	19%	59%	17%	6%

Source: WIN/Gallup International and ORB International, 2014.

See also the Swiss Metadatabase of Religious Affiliation in Europe (SMRE) which aims at providing detailed statistics and consolidated "best data" on religious affiliation for European countries and regions including the EU.

D 3 April 2017 AAnne-Laure Zwilling

Databases on religious affiliation

– The website of the Swiss Metadatabase of Religious Affiliation in Europe (SMRE) gathers detailed statistics and consolidated "best data" on religious affiliation for European countries and (...)

– The website of the Swiss Metadatabase of Religious Affiliation in Europe (SMRE) gathers detailed statistics and consolidated "best data" on religious affiliation for European countries and regions including the EU. It offers national and comparative maps.

– The website of Pew Research Center offers an interactive map of religious commitment in different European countries.

D 19 November 2018

Catholicism in Europe and the World: 2020 statistics

D 2 March 2022