Europe was once a Christian continent where the longest war ever fought, the Thirty Years’ War, was between Protestants and Catholics over who was worshiping God correctly. Over the past hundred years, however, Europe has moved increasingly toward secularism and liberalism, with social policies shifting further left.
Only 67 percent of Europeans now identify as Christian. Church attendance has fallen to single digits in many countries, while liberal policies such as same-sex marriage and abortion have become widespread.
Most European countries allow abortion on request, typically between 10 and 14 weeks. France, once a bastion of Catholic faith, made abortion a constitutional right. Ireland, a country which until the 1970s had the highest church attendance in Europe, voted to repeal its abortion ban in 2018. Twelve European countries allow individuals to change their official gender marker on documents without medical requirements.
All EU member states except Hungary, Latvia, and Romania provide access to drug therapies for gender transition, and in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Denmark it is paid for through national health insurance. Seven countries have legalized euthanasia or assisted dying, with Belgium including minors in certain circumstances. Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001, while the Netherlands has tolerated cannabis in coffee shops since the 1970s and Germany legalized recreational cannabis in 2024.
Roughly 56 percent of Europeans say they do not identify with any religion. A 2010 Eurobarometer survey found that 51 percent of EU citizens believe in God, while 20 percent do not believe in anything. While it is no surprise that northern Europe and Germany have a very low percentage of people who believe in God, France was a major disappointment, with 56 percent no longer believing in God. Romania had only one percent non-believers and Malta two percent, while the Czech Republic is considered the most atheist country in Europe, with 80 percent saying they have no religion at all.
Slovenia prohibits religious education in public schools, making it one of very few European states with this restriction. The Organization and Financing of Upbringing and Education Act explicitly prohibits any religious activities in public schools. Strong separation of church and state follows the French laïcité model. One elective course called Religions and Ethics is offered as a non-confessional option in higher primary grades. Unlike all other former Yugoslav republics that reintroduced confessional religious education after 1991, Slovenia maintained its strict secularist approach.
Despite widespread secularization, some European countries retain formal Christian integration in government and education, with Greece enforcing it most strictly. The 1975 Constitution establishes the Greek Orthodox Church as the prevailing religion, and Orthodox religious education is compulsory in all public schools from third grade through high school.
A 2019 Council of State ruling held that religion classes are exclusively for Orthodox students, who cannot opt out, while exemptions are limited to atheists and non-Orthodox students. Schools verify baptismal records to deny exemptions, and the curriculum is mandated to develop Orthodox Christian consciousness.
About 90 percent of the population identifies as Orthodox Christian, and special legal arrangements between the state and Church exist across multiple policy areas. Greece is unique in Europe in legally requiring baptized Christians to receive religious education with no opt-out.
Poland has the strongest political rhetoric around Christian identity in Europe. Catholic education is offered in every public school with state funding and draws over 80 percent participation. The Catholic Church fully controls the curriculum, which the government cannot alter, and selects teachers who are paid by the state. A 1993 Concordat with the Vatican, ratified in 1998, guarantees Catholic education, and the 1997 Constitution explicitly permits religious instruction in schools.
President Andrzej Duda stated in 2024 that religion is an inalienable part of Polishness, while former Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek said Christian education is necessary to save Latin civilization. Parliament is debating a bill to require either religion or ethics classes. About 71 percent of Poles identify as Catholic, down from 88 percent in 2010, and the liberal government elected in 2025 is cutting religion classes from two hours to one per week over Church opposition.
Hungary presents an alternative for second place alongside Poland. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has described Hungary as a Christian democracy since 2018 and says the country is defending Christian Europe against a godless cosmos. Christianity functions as a core political ideology and policy framework, with the government promoting Christian values and using religious rhetoric to justify immigration restrictions and family policy. Churches receive preferential treatment and government support. Despite this, Christian identification fell from 92.9 percent in 1992 to 42.5 percent in 2022, reflecting a steep decline alongside the political rhetoric.
Denmark has strong constitutional integration of Christianity. The Evangelical Lutheran Church is established as the state church by the constitution, and the monarch is constitutionally required to be a member. Religious education is mandatory in the school curriculum. The state directly funds the national church, and the church–state relationship is formally embedded in constitutional and statutory law.
Italy maintains cultural integration despite constitutional secularism, with about 80 percent of the population identifying as Catholic. Crucifixes in classrooms are no longer legally mandatory following a 2021 Supreme Court ruling but remain widespread through school community choice. In 2011, the European Court of Human Rights ruled 15 to 2 that crucifixes may remain as passive symbols of Italian cultural identity.
Catholic religious education is mandatory for schools to offer but optional for students, with 86 percent participation in 2020. The Hour of Religion provides one hour per week throughout primary and secondary education. Teachers are selected by the Catholic Church and paid by the state, with the curriculum jointly approved by the Ministry of Education and the Italian Episcopal Conference. Italy has had no official state religion since the 1948 constitution, but the Concordat with the Vatican grants the Catholic Church special privileges.
Slovakia has a 62 percent Catholic population and operates a mandatory either-or system in which all public elementary students must take either a religion class, usually Catholic, or an ethics class, with no full opt-out allowed. Parents choose between the two, but complete exemption is not permitted, making Slovakia’s system distinct from most European countries.
Finland requires religious education as mandatory in comprehensive schools for ages 7 to 16 and secondary schools for ages 16 to 18 or 19. Eleven different approved religious education curricula exist, with Lutheran dominant, but other registered religions can request their own instruction. Two national churches exist: Evangelical Lutheran and Finnish Orthodox.
Norway’s Church of Norway has special constitutional status despite disestablishment in 2012 but retained privileges. The King must be a church member as a constitutional requirement. Since 2007, students can opt out of Christianity, religion, and philosophy courses.
England has the Church of England as the official established church. Religious education is compulsory by law under the Education Act of 1944. Christianity must have predominant place while teaching other religions. The monarch is Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
The Fundamental Law of Hungary establishes the country as founded on Christian values, and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has described Hungary as a “Christian democracy” since 2018. Despite this political rhetoric emphasizing Christianity’s role in Hungarian identity, Christian identification fell dramatically from 92.9 percent in 1992 to 42.5 percent in 2022, representing one of Europe’s steepest declines alongside the political emphasis on Christian values.
Hungary operates a mandatory either-or system requiring one hour per week of education in faith and ethics or general ethics through the first eight grades of public school, established by the Act CXC of 2011 on Public Education. Parents and students must choose between faith and ethics classes offered by any of the 32 legally recognized religious groups or a secular ethics course taught by public school teachers, with no full opt-out allowed.
Church schools have expanded significantly, operating approximately 17 percent of elementary and secondary schools as of 2019-2020. Churches or religious associations receive state subsidies based on enrollment, with “established churches” receiving preferential supplementary subsidies for operating expenses at an estimated 3:1 ratio compared to secular schools. Religious schools are free to conduct their own religious teaching without government input and can make faith education mandatory and not substitutable with an ethics class.
Based on the evidence, Greece is arguably the most religious country in Europe, as it constitutionally establishes the Greek Orthodox Church as the prevailing religion, mandates Orthodox religious education with no opt-out for baptized Christians, and reports about 90 percent Orthodox identification, the strongest enforcement on the continent.
England and Denmark retain state churches, while Hungary’s Fundamental Law defines the country as founded on Christian values. Poland combines strong political rhetoric linking Christianity to national identity with over 80 percent participation in Catholic education and 71 percent Catholic identification.
Finland requires mandatory religious education in primary and secondary schools, offering eleven approved curricula across two national churches. Italy remains culturally Catholic, with about 80 percent identifying as Catholic, widespread crucifixes in classrooms by local choice, and Catholic religious education offered in all schools with 86 percent student participation.
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