NE - Human Geography Lesson

Human Geography

Religion and Language in Europe

Europe has historically been considered a Christian realm. The three main branches of Christianity in Europe are Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox. Operating on the Romance language, Latin, the Catholic Church has provided southern Europe with a common religion for over 1,500 years. Rome and the Vatican City has been the geographical base for the Roman Catholic Church since the Roman Empire. After splitting from the Roman Catholic church, the Eastern Orthodox Church launched itself as the primary organization in the Slavic lands of Eastern Europe and Russia. Following the Protestant Reformation, protestant churches became dominant in Northern Europe.

Though there are additional language groups, the three main Indo-European language groups coincide with the three main religious divisions. In the east, where the Eastern Orthodox Church is dominant, the Slavic language group prevails. In the north, along with Protestant Christianity, one finds the Germanic language group. In southern Europe, where Roman Catholicism is dominant, the Romance languages are more commonly spoken.

Germanic Language Group (found mainly in Northern Europe)	Romance Language Group (found mainly in Southern Europe)	Slavic Language Group (found mainly in Eastern Europe)
English, Dutch, German	French, Italian, Spanish	Polish, Russian, Czech
Danish, Norwegian, Swedish	Portuguese, Romanian, Walloon	Ukrainian, Slovak, Slovene
Icelandic, Faroese, Frysian	Romancsh, Catalan, Provencal	Belarussian, Serbo-Croatian, Lusatian
		Macedonian, Bulgarian

The map below shows the geography of languages and religions in Europe.

Although not often discussed, there are languages that do not fit into these larger Indo-European categories. Estonian, Finnish, and Hungarian all belong to the Uralic language family which is thought to have developed on either side of the Ural Mountains.

The Spread of European Culture

As you view this map, consider how the Romance and Germanic languages and cultures spread because of colonization and are still evident today.

The Road to Unification

The world economy has a competitive marketplace. Each independent country must compete economically to earn national income, but not all countries are equal in natural or human resources.

The economic forces of globalization have motivated the nation-states of Europe to work together rather than compete. Unified, the countries could be a major economic power in the world. Separately and independently, they may not be able to compete at the same level as other globally recognized trading blocs.

 

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