Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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6. Religion and society
On balance, Western Europeans tend to have more positive than negative views about religious institutions
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- 6. Religion and society
- In Western Europe, religious observance is connected with civic participation and social attitudes
- Roughly a quarter of adults in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden involved with community groups
- Many Western Europeans participate in sports or recreation clubs
- Highly committed Christians more likely than ‘nones’ to volunteer with community groups, but more ‘nones’ engaged in sports clubs
- Most say religious institutions help poor and needy, bring people together
- On balance, Western Europeans tend to have more positive than negative views about religious institutions
- Four-in-ten or more in Germany, Portugal, Ireland, Austria, Italy and Switzerland say governments should promote religious values
- Christians’ views on church-state relations vary based on levels of religious observance
- About one-in-four or fewer in most Western European countries oppose gay marriage
- Highly observant Christians are less likely to favor same-sex marriage
- Western Europeans more likely than U.S. adults to favor legal abortion
- Religious ‘nones’ and Christians with low levels of commitment both overwhelmingly support legal abortion
- Few religiously unaffiliated adults take positive views of churches and other religious institutions