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.