Cultural Characteristics of Europe

1. Cultural Characteristics of Europe

2. Religion In Europe • Europe is home to many religions • There are three main religions • These are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam • These religions have some similarities and even a common history • Monotheism (the belief in one god) is cental to all three religions

3. Religion In Europe • They are also different in their beliefs about God and man. • Sometimes these beliefs cause disagreements between people. • Disagreements can even happen between people of the same religious group.

4. Europe Today • Religion has been very important in the history of Europe. • Wars have been fought, and government leaders have been changed, because of religious issues. • Today, most Europeans have the legal freedom to choose their religion. • Most Europeans recognize and respect the rights of others to choose their own religion.

5. Judaism • Founder- Abraham (about 2000 BC) • Holy Book- Torah • Name of Followers- Jews • Number of Followers Worldwide- 15 million

6. Important Facts of Judaism • Torah is the first five books of the writings of Moses, believed to be given to Moses by God at Mt. Sinai • Talmud is the written version of the Oral Law • belief is in the laws of one God and the words of his prophets • actions and following the laws are important • Three main types of Judaism are: Orthodox (most traditional), Conservative and Reform (least traditional) • Jews in Europe were nearly wiped out by Hitler and Nazi Germany (Holocaust)

7. Christianity • Founder- Jesus Christ (30 AD) • Holy Book- Bible • Name of Followers- Christians • Number of Followers Worldwide- 2.1 Billion

8. Important Facts of Christianity • the five books of Moses make up the first five books of the Bible • beliefs are based on the teachings of Jesus: love of God and neighbor, a regard for justice, a belief that Jesus is the Son of God • Christianity is divided into 3 major groups: Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant • Protestants include Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and other non-Catholic, and non-Orthodox Christians • Christianity is in most parts of the world today

9. Islam • Founder- Muhammad (about 610 AD) • Holy Book- Koran (Quran) • Name of Followers- Muslims • Number of Followers Worldwide- 1.3 Billion

10. Important Facts of Islam • Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last of the prophets, which included Abraham and Jesus • the main duties of Muslims are called the Five Pillars • are prayer • giving to charity • belief in and submission to one God (Allah) • fasting during the month of Ramadan • a trip to Mecca once in a lifetime (Hajj) • the two largest groups of Muslims are the Sunnis and the Shiites; the Sunnis account for 90% of the world’s Muslims • it is the main religion of the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia number of followers is rapidly growing

11. Europe Languages • The continent of Europe is slightly larger than the United States in land area. • Europe’s population is more than double the population of the United States. • In the United States, English is the dominant language.

12. Europe Languages • Europe is much different. • It is home to more than two hundred native languages. • A few languages are dominant, but many more are spoken by large numbers of people.

13. Germanic Language • Most European languages are in three main categories: Germanic languages, Romance languages, and Slavic languages. • The Germanic language group has the most native speakers. • European native speakers of this group live mostly in northwest and central Europe.

14. Germanic Language • About 20 percent of Europeans speak one of two languages—English and German—as their native language. • Most Europeans learn English as a second language in their schools even if they don’t speak English at home.

15. Romance Languages • languages, which includes French, Italian, and Spanish. • These languages are found in the south and west of Europe. • These languages come from Latin, the language of the ancient Roman Empire.

16. Romance Languages • The Roman alphabet is used to write both Romance and Germanic languages, although not every language has the exact same characters and punctuation.

17. Slavic Languages • Slavic languages include Russian. Slavic languages are found in central and eastern Europe. • These languages do not always use the Roman alphabet. • They are written with a Cyrillic alphabet. Russian, for example, uses the Cyrillic alphabet.

18. Why is language a problem? • Having so many languages can be a problem. • It is difficult to live, work, and trade with people who cannot communicate with each other. • Europeans have worked hard to solve this problem. • Most schoolchildren learn one or two other languages besides their own.

19. European Union • The European Union has twenty-three “official” languages to make sure that people can understand laws and decisions made by the government. • There are special laws to protect languages too. • Europeans want to keep alive the languages spoken by only a few people. • At the same time, they are working to build a unified Europe.

20. Summary • Describe the three different groups of languages in Europe. (include the name and where they are spoken • Why is language such a problem in Europe? • Create a triple Venn diagram on the three religions of Europe.