Between 2010 and 2020, atheists represented the fastest-growing population group on the continent, according to new data.
The European population is changing and with it religious practice. To discuss the changes underway, we must first set the scene. In 2020, Europe had a population of 753 million.
According to data from the Pew Research Centre, the religious distribution of the continent was two-thirds Christian (67% of the population), a quarter of the population said they were not affiliated with any religion (25% of the population), and 6% of the population was Muslim.
However, behind these facts lie different trends. While Christianity grew worldwide between 2010 and 2020, according to the Pew Research Centre, the number of people who identify as Christian has declined in Europe. In 10 years, the proportion of Christians has fallen from 74% of the population to 67%.
"About two out of three people in Europe still identify as Christian. But back in 2010, it was three out of four people," explained Conrad Hackett, senior demographer at the Pew Research Centre.
Two countries have lost their Christian religious majority: France and the United Kingdom. According to the study, religious disaffection is the main explanation for this trend.
Jews are also seeing a decline in their presence on the continent, with an 8% drop in a decade.
In contrast, three groups stand out for their growth in absolute numbers, starting with atheists. "Of the seven groups that we analysed, the religiously unaffiliated were the group that grew the most," said the demographer.
People with no religious affiliation have grown by 37% in a decade. In terms of growth, they are ahead of Hindus (30%) and Muslims (15%). However, Hindus represented 0.3% of the European population in 2020.
The increase in the number of atheists and secularists seems to reflect the decline in Christianity.
"The biggest change in Europe was due to religious switching, people no longer identifying with the religion in which they were brought up. And again, most of that change was people coming from a Christian background and telling us when they were interviewed recently that they no longer identify with any religion," notes Hackett.
While the number of Muslims has increased by 15.9% in absolute terms over the past 10 years, "the Muslim population (share) grew by a little bit less than one percentage point of Europe overall," Conrad Hackett pointed out.
Diverse dynamics regarding median age
Europe is a continent with an ageing population, according to the Pew Research Centre. Jews and Christians are the groups with the highest median ages, at 52 and 45 respectively. Conversely, Muslims are the youngest religious group, with a median age of 34.
"For people who do not identify with any religion, the median age is 39. So, Muslims and the unaffiliated are younger on average, and the general population, Christians and Jews, are older on average," Hackett said.
These data from the Pew Research Centre are the result of censuses and surveys. However, the methodologies are not always comparable.
"In every country in Europe, there are differences. Some countries do measure religion in their census, many do not," Hackett pointed out.