Understanding Your Western European Ancestors:
Religion

A basic understanding of religion in Western Europe is vital since churches kept the best and most reliable records of common people. These parish records provide birth, marriage, death and sometimes other information about the majority of our Western European ancestors. For more information about records kept by churches, see the Parish Records section. For information about religion in England (particularly Buckinghamshire) and Sweden (particularly Skåne) try their individual sections.

This section is still growing. Check back for more information.

State Sponsored Religions

In Western Europe at the beginning of the nineteenth century, there was little concept of separation of church and state. Most religions were state-sponsored, or endorsed, and supported by the civil authorities. For many peasants, their local parish minister was one of the strongest authority figures in their lives. Freedom of religion often either did not exist at all, or was only in its infancy. Many countries outlawed the practice of other religions and refused to recognize marriages and other ordinances performed in them. As the century progressed, freedoms grew and religious tolerance gradually increased.

The two main religions throughout Western Europe were Lutheranism and Catholicism. For example, the Scandinavian countries were predominantly Lutheran, while France, Spain, and Italy were Catholic. The German states were divided with much of northern Germany practicing Lutheranism, while the southern states tended to practice Catholicism. The exception to the Lutheran/Catholic divide was England, where the state sponsored church was the Church of England.

Dissident Groups

Despite the often severe regulations and penalties for dissenting from the state church, religious dissidents were found throughout Western Europe from the beginning of the nineteenth century (and earlier). Their prevalence varied from place to place. In some areas, nearly ninety-nine percent of the population attended the state-sponsored church. Other areas had sizable populations of various religious groups other than those belonging to the major religious denomination. Other religions included Jews, Quakers, Baptists, Methodist, Presbyterians, and Huguenots, among others. Because the number of people attending these other religions was small, often large areas belonged to one congregation.