Europe is the second smallest continent in size but the third largest in population. The European continent houses 50 countries. Of the European countries, 27 nations belong to the European Union (EU) which is a political and economic union.
Politically, Europe is home to a huge number of countries: 50 in all. Those countries total 750 million people, with closer to 900 million if you include the parts of Russia and Turkey that are not in geographical Europe. It is therefore probably not surprising that the politics and culture of Europe is complex, and a topic for an entire lesson all on its own.
Europe is made
up of many political and economic alliances. The most important of these is the
European Union. The European Union (EU) is a political and
economic alliance between 28 of the countries of Europe. It includes the
European Parliament (elected by the population of member countries), the
European Council, and the European Commission among others. It allows the
countries of Europe to achieve things on a wider scale, which simply would not
be possible individually. There is also an economic alliance where many of the
countries of Europe have a single currency called the euro. These
19 countries are collectively known as the eurozone, and their currency is
regulated by the European Central Bank.
The culture of
Europe is harder to define because every individual country has its own
culture. Generally speaking, European culture is more laid-back when compared
to the USA. There is less of a focus on work being the center of life - rather,
spending time with family and enjoying good quality food and experiences is
what's important to many Europeans. Europeans tend to be more society-oriented,
and therefore more liberal politically. The focus is less on individualism, and
more on working together as a society. There are therefore stronger social
safety nets, and things like healthcare and education are considered human
rights. Taxes are also higher, though much of it is hidden in the form of sales
taxes. There is a more relaxed attitude to alcohol, with parents educating the
children about it openly. Europeans also tend to be less patriotic than
Americans, perhaps because of the history of war in the region - nationalism is
often associated with fascism, and so is looked upon with more suspicion than
in the US.
Religion
Religion in Europe is diverse. The
largest religion in the Europe is Christianity, which accounted for 72.8%
of Europe population as of 2018. Smaller groups include those
of Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, and some East
Asian religions, most concentrated in Germany and France. Also present
are revival movements of pre-Christianity European folk
religions including Heathenism, Rodnovery, Romuva,
and Druidry.
Over the last several decades, religious practice has been on the
decline in a process of secularisation. Eurostat's Eurobarometer survey
in 2010 showed that 20% of European citizens don't believe there is any sort of
spirit, god, or life force. Many countries have experienced falling church
attendance and membership in recent years.
The countries with the most people reporting no belief in any sort of
spirit, god, or life force are France (40%), Czech Republic (37%), Sweden (34%), the
Netherlands (30%), Estonia (29%), Germany (27%), Belgium (27%)
and Slovenia (26%). The most religious countries are Romania (1%
non-believers) and Malta (2% non-believers). Across the Europe,
belief is more common with older age and is higher amongst women, those with
only basic education, and those "positioning themselves on the right of
the political scale (57%).
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