CULTURES OF EUROPE SS6G11 The student will describe the cultural characteristics of Europe

ELEMENTS O Explain the diversity of European culture as seen in a comparison of German, English, Russian, French, and Italian. O Describe the major religions in Europe; include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. O Explain how the literacy rate affects the standard of living in Europe

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS O How does the diversity of languages in Europe (German, English, Russian, French, Italian) reflect its unique cultural characteristics? O How do the people of Europe overcome the barriers created by the diversity of cultures? O What are the characteristics of the three major religions in Europe (Judaism, Christianity, Islam)? O What is the relationship between literacy rate and standard of living?

European Languages o Europe has many diverse languages, most belonging to the Indo-European family o Three main types of languages used in Europe o Germanic o Romance o Slavic

LANGUAGES IN EUROPE O Germanic O The most commonly used language in the world O Examples are German and English O Used in countries like England, Germany, Austria, Romania and Switzerland O Romance O Language that is based on the ancient Romans O Examples are French and Italian O Used in countries like France, Italy, and Belgium O Slavic O One of the oldest languages in Europe O Uses a Cyrillic alphabet O Examples are Russian O Used in Eastern European countries like Russia, Ukraine and Belarus

O There are three major religious groups in Europe O All three religions are based around monotheism O Means that there is only one God RELIGIONS OF EUROPE

JUDAISM o Began about 1800 years ago o Beliefs are routed in Abraham and Moses as prophets and all Jews are awaiting the Messiah o The sacred book is called the Torah o The Old Testament in the Bible o Some of the sacred places are the Jerusalem temple, Hebron, Palestine and the burial place of Abraham o Many Jews in Europe live in France, the UK, Russia and Eastern Europe

ISLAM o Started by the prophet Muhammad in the 7 th Century o Beliefs based on Abraham and Moses as the original prophets and that Muhammad is the last prophet o Allah is the messiah and one true God o The teachings are based in the Quran (Koran) o The sacred places include Mecca and Medina and Jerusalem o Fastest growing religion in Europe o Many live in France, Germany, the UK and Eastern Europe

CHRISTIANITY o Began with the birth of Christ in the 1 st century o Beliefs based on Abraham and Moses as prophets o The messiah is Jesus, the son of God o The teachings are based in the Bible o Sacred places include the Holy Land in Israel o Most popular religion in Europe o Catholics live in France, Spain and Italy, while Protestants live in Germany and the UK

Practicing Islam and Judaism

EUROPE AND THE STANDARD OF LIVING O The continent of Europe has a very high literacy rate O Percentage of adults who can read and write O Most of the countries have 90% percent or higher literacy rates O France, Norway, Germany have the highest O Standard of living in Europe is also high O Measure of a country’s quality of life O Most western European countries have high standards of living, while Eastern European countries like Russia have unemployment and economic issues