<Tr> <Td> Atheist </Td> <Td> 10.4 </Td> <Td> 10.4 </Td> </Tr> <P> The EU has no formal connection to any religion . The Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union recognises the "status under national law of churches and religious associations" as well as that of "philosophical and non-confessional organisations". </P> <P> The preamble to the Treaty on European Union mentions the "cultural, religious and humanist inheritance of Europe". Discussion over the draft texts of the European Constitution and later the Treaty of Lisbon included proposals to mention Christianity or God, or both, in the preamble of the text, but the idea faced opposition and was dropped . </P> <P> Christians in the European Union are divided among members of Catholicism (both Roman and Eastern Rite), numerous Protestant denominations (Anglicans, Lutherans and Reformed forming the bulk of this category), and the Eastern Orthodox Church . In 2009, the EU had an estimated Muslim population of 13 million, and an estimated Jewish population of over a million . The other world religions of Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism are also represented in the EU population . </P>

The european union (eu) is an example of a