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Culture of Europe

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Life in the European Union

The Culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures of Europe. Whether it be a question of West as opposed to East; Catholicism and Protestantism as opposed to Eastern Orthodoxy; Christianity as opposed to Islam; many have claimed to identify cultural faultlines across the continent.

Europe has been a cradle for many cultural innovations and movements, often at odds with each other such as Christian proselytism and Humanism, that have consequently been spread across the globe. The Renaissance of classical ideas influenced the development of art and literature far beyond the confines of the continent.

Contents

Faultlines

One of the major problems in defining the European culture, is where does Europe start and where does it end? Most countries share common historical experiences, but several important faultlines appear. The first one is the dividing lands that were occupied at some point by the Roman Empire, thus dividing Europe along a line that goes through Hadrian's Wall in the British Isles, along the Rhine and finally along the Danube. Another faultline is the Catholic-Orthodox divide caused by the Great Schism, which isolates Russia, Belarus, half of Ukraine (whether Uniate Ukraine is considered Orthodox or Catholic is a matter of debate) and Serbia. Yet another faultline is the one that separates the lands once occupied by the Ottoman Empire and the ones that weren't, which created the current Christian-Islam faultline, that separates Albania, Bosnia and Turkey. Another faultline was caused by Napoleon's conquests and the legacies of the Continental System and the spread of the French Revolution inspiring civil law. Also notable is the faultline that separates the parts of Europe that went through industrialization in the 19th century, including Northern Italy and Bohemia. And finally, the most recent faultline is the infamous Iron Curtain. These faultlines are key to understanding the cultural similarities and differences in Europe. They are also important for identifying what countries should be admitted into the European Union (such as in the case of Turkey or the 2004 separatist menace in Ukraine). Thus the question of "common culture" or "common values" is far more complex than it seems.

Global influence

European culture also has a broad influence beyond the continent of Europe due to the legacy of colonialism. In this broader sense it is sometimes referred to as Western Civilization. Nearly all of the Americas were ruled by European powers at one time or another, and some parts of the New World, such as French Guiana, still are. The vast majority of the population of the Americas speak European languages, specifically Spanish, English, Portuguese, and French. Additionally the cultures of the European colonial powers (Spain, Britain, Portugal, Russia and France) exert a strong influence.

The legacy of colonialism has spread European culture elsewhere in the world. Europe profoundly influenced on the cultures of Africa, India, Israel, Australia, and other places colonised or settled by Europeans.

Values

In recent decades the European Union has been seeking to identify and support common European values, however this has turned out to be a highly controversial issue. Some commentators wish to classify social cohesion and solidarity as European values and contrast them with more individualist values in the United States. The distinction is not a simple one, but is perhaps most fundamentally reflected in differing attitudes to government, notably in terms of trust in the government.

Arts

See European art history

Food and drink

See European cuisine

Language

See European languages

Language is a very important part of culture, and Europe has a widespread variety of languages, with most countries having at least one official language. Russian is the largest language in Europe, followed by German. Many regional languages are also spoken, some enjoying a level of official status or recognition. Other minority languages are also spoken. The diversity on such a small territory is proverbial. The European Union alone uses 21 official languages, which all have the same status. The cost of translation is so high that the official language of the Union is an ongoing debate, since many MEPs are bilingual and most languages have a great level of prestige.

Literature

Music

Religion

Christianity being the dominant feature in shaping European culture for at least the last 1700 years. Modern philosophical thought has very much been influenced by Christian philosphers such as St Thomas Aquinas and Erasmus.

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The most popular religions of Europe are the following:

Other minor religions exist in Europe, some brought by migrants, including: Millions of Europeans profess no religion or are atheist or agnostic. The largest non-confessional populations (as a percentage) are found in Sweden, the Czech Republic and France although most former communist countries have significant non-confessional populations. Attendance at church is a minority activity in most Western European countries - as an example, the Church of England attracts around 1 million worshippers on a Sunday [link], which corresponds to about 2% of the population of England.

Official religions

A number of countries in Europe have official religions, including Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Vatican City (Catholic); and Greece (Eastern Orthodox), Denmark, Iceland and Norway (Lutheran). In Switzerland, some cantons are officially Catholic, others Reformed Protestant. Some Swiss villages even have their religion as well as the village name written on the signs at their entrances.

Georgia has no established church, but the Georgian Orthodox Church enjoys "de facto" privileged status. In Finland, both Finnish Orthodox Church and Lutheran church are official. Russia recognises Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism as all "official" #redirect [[Template:Fact]] (with three states, Kalmykia, Buryatia and Tuva, officially Buddhist #redirect [[Template:Fact]]). England, a part of the UK, has Anglicanism as its official religion. Scotland, another part of the UK, has Presbyterianism as the 'National' church, but is no longer "official", and in Sweden, the 'National' church is Lutheran, but no longer "official". France, Turkey and Azerbaijan are officially "secular".

Sport

Europe's influence on sport is enormous. Indeed, it is difficult to think of a modern sport, apart from basketball and related sports, that does not have its origins in Europe. European sports include:

In addition, Europe has numerous national or regional sports which do not command a huge international following outside of emmigrant groups. These include: Some sporting organisations hold European Championships.

Symbols

See also

 

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