EU RELIGION
In a recent European Union survey, 53% of EU citizens regarded religion as a significant element of their lives. 46% of people in the 27 EU member countries attach no importance to religion. About 49.5% of all EU citizens are Catholics, 12.7% Protestants, 8.6% Orthodox, 15.7% Muslims, 0.4% Jews and 25.4% non-religious. Religion is most important to the Maltese (88%), Poles (87%) as well as Cypriots, Greeks and Romanians (86% each). More than 70% of those in Belgium and the Czech Republic regard religion as insignificant. EU women are more religious than men (58% vs. 45%). (Assist News service 2/27/07)