Today, the vast majority of Portuguese identify as Roman Catholic (81%). However, most consider themselves as non-practising. For many, national and cultural identity is often linked to Catholicism, rather than purely a religious affiliation.
According to the 2021 Census, 80.2% of the population of Portugal is Catholic, though in 2001 only about 19% attended Mass and took the sacraments regularly, while a larger number wish to have their children baptized, be married in a church, and receive Last Rites.
Furthermore, Catholics are the largest religious group in many of the continent's most populous countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain, according to an analysis of recent Pew Research Center surveys in 34 European countries.
Research has suggested that by the 10th century, half the population of the Iberian peninsula was Muslim. For Barros, Muslims who sailed from North Africa were no more foreign than the Christian kings and armies from northern Europe who conquered the territory before and after them.
In 1940, Salazar signed an agreement with the Vatican granting the Catholic church certain powers within Portugal.
In terms of GDP, Portugal is not necessarily considered a “rich” country, ranking number 47 worldwide. A country's richness cannot also be measured solely through GDP. However, the Portuguese economy has been growing in recent years, despite the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ronaldo grew up in an impoverished Catholic Christian home, sharing a room with all his siblings.
Religion in Spain is characterized by the dominance of the Catholic branch of Christianity, with high levels of secularization as of 2022. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Spanish Constitution. 56% of Spaniards declare themselves Catholic, 39% non-religious, 2.8% follow other religions and 2.3% did not answer.
Catholicism is the majority religion in France, though small numbers—roughly 4.5% of Catholics—attend mass and overall, adherence to Catholicism is declining. Roman Catholicism was the state religion of France beginning with the conversion of King Clovis I (d.
The expulsion of the Muslim minority from Portugal, decreed by King Manuel I in December 1496, has been one of the most overlooked aspects of the end of religious tolerance in the Iberian Peninsula at the close of the Middle Ages.
According to these church stats, Christianity is the largest religious group in Germany, with around 44.9 million adherents (53.9%) in 2020 of whom 22.2 million are Catholics (26.7%) and 20.2 million are Protestants (24.3%).
Today, the vast majority of Portuguese identify as Roman Catholic (81%). However, most consider themselves as non-practising. For many, national and cultural identity is often linked to Catholicism, rather than purely a religious affiliation.
Since the Portuguese colonized Brazil in the 16th century, it has been overwhelmingly Catholic. And today Brazil has more Roman Catholics than any other country in the world – an estimated 123 million.
The Catholic Church is the largest denomination in the country, where 123 million people, or 64.6% of the Brazilian population, are self-declared Catholics. These figures make Brazil the single country with the largest Catholic community in the world.
Poland is a secular country and freedom of religion is constitutionally ensured regardless of one's faith so long as its practices do not harm others. As of 2017, it is estimated the majority (85.9%) of the population identifies as Catholic Christians.
Croatia is officially a secular state, yet religion has played a large role in terms of informing the cultural values of Croatians. A majority of Croatians identified with Christianity, with 86.3% identifying as Roman Catholic and 4.4% identifying as Eastern Orthodox .
Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia are said to have the fastest-growing Christian communities and the majority of the new believers are “upwardly mobile, urban, middle-class Chinese”.
The official religion of the United Kingdom is Christianity, with the Church of England being the state church of its largest constituent region, England. The Church of England defines itself as neither fully Reformed (Protestant) nor fully Catholic.
A 2020 study by the independent research center The Center for Studies of New Religions (CESNUR) estimates 67 percent of the population is Catholic, 24 percent atheist or agnostic, 5 percent non-Catholic Christian, 4 percent Muslim, and 1 percent followers of other religions.
According to Catholic tradition, the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ. The New Testament records Jesus' activities and teaching, His appointment of the twelve Apostles, and His instructions to them to continue His work.
He was born to a Muslim Bosniak father, Šefik Ibrahimović, who emigrated to Sweden in 1977, and a Catholic Croat mother, Jurka Gravić, who also emigrated to Sweden where the couple first met. Ibrahimović identifies with his mother's faith and considers himself a devout Catholic Christian.