Europe is home to some 700 million inhabitants, the majority of whom are also part of the European Union (EU). Rooted in a millennium-long history of Christianity across the continent, Europe still maintains a dominance of Christian religions – including Roman Catholicism and Protestantism – while at the same time breeding a growing trans-continent population of Muslims. In the times of the early Middle Ages, Europe experienced Christianisation, yet this was to begin to crumble following the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century. Meanwhile, largely due to migration, the Islamic populations of Europe have been on the rise, leading to a popular reference for the changing face of Europe: Eurabia.
Currently, the countries with a significant Roman Catholic population include Portugal, Spain, France, and Belgium. Those with a significant Protestant population include Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland. Meanwhile, countries with a significant Muslim population include Albania, Bosnia, and Turkey. European countries with official religions include Malta, Vatican City, and Greece.
According to recent demographic studies, Europe’s religious orientation is changing from theism (a belief in god) to atheism, and from religious doctrine to secularism or liberal pluralism. In recent years, Europe has seen large numbers of Muslim migration, with the largest Islamic populations in Western Europe located in France, the Netherlands, and Denmark. As for the 500 million-strong EU, this is largely a secular body, which aims to maintain a separation between church and state, and which has no formal connection to any particular religion.