Report finds European youth significantly non-Christian

BRUSSELS, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A majority of young people, aged between 16 and 29, in more than half of the 21 European countries plus Israel identify themselves as non-religious, a British expert said in a recent report.

The report titled Europe's Young Adults and Religion was authored by Stephen Bullivant, professor of Theology and the Sociology of Religion at London-based Saint Mary's University, citing statistics from European Social Survey (2014-16).

In Britain, 70 percent of young people say they have no religious faith; in France the figure is 64 percent and in Germany 45 percent, according to the report, which found the Czech Republic the least religious nation with 91 percent of the youth there saying they have no religion.

Estonia, Sweden, the Netherlands followed the Czech Republic in the percentage of least religious youth. Other countries with a majority of youth identifying with no faith include Hungary, Belgium, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Spain.

In other words, in 12 out of the 22 countries, over half of young adults claim not to identify with any particular religion.

"It may seem odd to begin a study on European youths' religiosity on this note," the report said, adding that "the high percentage of young adults affirming no religion in many countries ... is arguably the most significant fact here of all."

The European Social Survey also asked the respondents about the frequency to attend religious services except special occasions such as weddings and funerals.

Among the 22 countries, a majority of young people in seven countries said "never," with the percentages in Britain, France and Germany being 59 percent, 56 percent and 42 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, 80 percent of Czech youth and around 70 percent of Swedish, Danish, Estonian, Dutch, French and Norwegian ones never pray.

In only four countries, about 10 percent of the interviewees said they attend religious services on at least a weekly basis, according to the report.

Over the past decades, European countries have experienced a decline in the number of people professing a religious belief. For example, in Britain, its 2001 census revealed that over 70 percent of the population regarded themselves as Christians, while its 2011 census showed a dramatic reduction to less than 60 percent of people self-identifying as Christians.

The most dramatic shift in this regard occurred in the Czech Republic,where the share of the self-identified Catholics dropped from 44 percent in 1991 to 21 percent in 2016, according to another survey conducted by U.S.-based fact tank Pew Research Center. Enditem