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Although some denominations thrived, after World War II there was a steady overall decline in church attendance and resulting church closures for most denominations. [74] Talks began in the 1950s aiming at a grand merger of the main Presbyterian, Episcopal and Methodist bodies in Scotland.
The Catholic Church during the Age of Discovery inaugurated a major effort to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the indigenous peoples of the Americas and other indigenous peoples. The evangelical effort was a major part of, and a justification for, the military conquests of European powers such as Portugal, Spain, and France.
At the start of World War II in 1939, the Portuguese Government announced on 1 September that the 550-year-old Anglo-Portuguese Alliance remained intact, but since the British did not seek Portuguese assistance, Portugal was free to remain neutral in the war and would do so.
The Iberian Union (1580–1640), a 60-year dynastic union between Portugal and Spain, interrupted the alliance.The struggle of Elizabeth I of England against Philip II of Spain in the sixteenth century meant that Portugal and England were on opposite sides of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) and the Dutch–Portuguese War.
The war ended with the Treaty of Münster, a part of the wider Peace of Westphalia. During the war, Germany's population was reduced by 30% on average. In the territory of Brandenburg, the losses had amounted to half, while in some areas an estimated two thirds of the population died. The population of the Czech lands declined by a third.
A decline of Christian affiliation in the Western world has been observed in the decades since the end of World War II.While most countries in the Western world were historically almost exclusively Christian, the post-World War II era has seen developed countries with modern, secular educational facilities shifting towards post-Christian, secular, globalized, multicultural and multifaith ...
During the Age of Discovery, the Catholic Church inaugurated a major effort to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the Native Americans and other indigenous people. The missionary effort was a major part of, and a partial justification for the colonial efforts of European powers such as Spain , France and Portugal .
[532] [533] It is the world's largest religion with roughly 2.4 billion followers constituting around 31.2% of the world's population. [469] [465] [534] In 2000, approximately one-quarter of all Christians worldwide were part of Pentecostalism and its associated movements. [535]