Christianity in Europe
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"From the end of the seventh century until the battle of Lepanto in 1571, Islam in either its Arab, Ottoman, or North African and Spanish form dominated or effectively threatened European Christianity." -- Edward W. Said, Orientalism p. 74 "The emergence of the notion of "Europe" or the "Western World" is intimately connected with the idea of "Christendom", especially since Christianity in the Middle East was marginalized by the rise of Islam from the 7th century, a constellation that led to the Crusades, which although unsuccessful militarily were an important step in the emergence of a religious identity of Europe." --Sholem Stein "It was Christianity that pulled the European chestnuts from the fire by inspiring the actions of such men as Charles Martel (Tours, 10 October 732), Alfonso VIII, Sancho VII “El fuerte,” and Pedro II (Navas de Tolosa, 16 July 1212), Janos Hunyadi and John of Capistrano (Belgrade, July 22 1456), Don Juan de Austria and Miguel de Cervantes (Lepanto, 7 October 1571), and Jan Sobieski (Vienna, 11-12 September 1683). Without this long-gone muscular Christianity, could Europe have resisted the spiritual and military power of Islam?"[1] |
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Christianity is the largest religion in Europe. Christianity has been practiced in Europe since the 1st century, and a number of the Pauline Epistles were addressed to Christians living in Greece, as well as the Roman Empire.
According to a 2010 study by the Pew Research Center, 76.2% of the European population identified themselves as Christians.
As of 2010 Catholics were the largest Christian group in Europe, accounting for more than 48% of European Christians. The second-largest Christian group in Europe were the Orthodox, who made up 32% of European Christians. Although the Protestant Reformation began in Europe, only about 19% of European Christians were part of the Protestant tradition. Russia is the largest Christian country in Europe by population, followed by Germany and Italy.
For at least a millennium, Europe has been nearly equivalent to Christian culture, even though the religion was inherited from the Middle East. Christian culture was the predominant force in Western civilization, guiding the course of philosophy, art, and science.
Europe has a rich Christian culture, especially as numerous saints, martyrs and popes were European themselves. All of the popes from 741 to 2013 were from Europe. Europe brought together many of the Christian holy sites and heritage and religious centers.
See also
- Antemurale Christianitatis
- Roman Catholicism in Europe
- Conference of European Churches
- Islam in Europe
- Religion in Europe
- Religion in the European Union
- Christianity by country
- Roman Catholicism by country
- Protestantism by country
- Religion in North America
- Religion in South America
- Irreligion in Europe
- List of religious populations
- Major world religions
