A Pew Research Center survey found that Christianity continues to grow in Central and Eastern European countries 25 years after the fall of the Soviet Union and communist regimes.
The study discovered that “religion and national identity are closely entwined.
The study published on May 10 revealed that a majority of Europeans said they believe in God and they identify with a religion–mostly with Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism.
The study discovered that “religion and national identity are closely entwined.” The majority of those surveyed claimed that their faith is an important aspect of their nationality. People in the Russian Federation and Poland said being Orthodox or Catholic is essential to their being “truly Russian” or “truly Polish.” Same with Greece where being Orthodox is considered vital to being “truly Greek.”
Meantime, a survey revealed that patriotism and pride in Christianity of the English people have slowed the decline of congregation numbers of the Anglican Church, The Telegraph reports.
According to the British Social Attitudes Survey and the European Social Survey, the number of people who said they have no religion decreased to 48.6 per cent in 2015 compared to 50.6 per cent in 2009. Meanwhile, those who follow the Church of England rose to 17.1 per cent in 2015 from a low of 16.3 per cent in 2009.
Dr. Stephen Bullivant, Professor of Theology and the Sociology of Religion at St. Mary’s University in Twickenham, said, “People see Christianity as an expression of English-ness. There has been more rhetoric around Britain being a Christian nation.”
He added that, “People are looking for ways to connect with others. I suspect a larger proportion of people who do say they are Anglican tend to be patriotic.”
Sources:
Pewforumorg. (2017). Pewforumorg. http://www.pewforum.org/2017/05/10/religious-belief-and-national-belonging-in-central-and-eastern-europe/
Telegraphcouk. (2017). The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/13/anglican-church-congregation-numbers-have-stabilised/
