Religion

Wallonia, Belgium has had much debate regarding religion lately because they want to fit to everyone’s needs and not discriminate based on faith. Everyone in Belgium has religious freedom and the census has stopped asking people to give their religion since 2002 (Advameg, Inc.). The report that was last taken in 2002 said that about “75% of the population is Roman Catholic, and 25% are Protestant or other” (Advameg, Inc.).  The Muslim population reached a staggering 350,000 in 2002 as well, and is still increasing (Advameg, Inc.).  The Muslim population has quickly spread out through many European countries and they are continually growing in numbers. They have covered such a large part of the population now that Wallonia decided to rename the four major Christian holidays on their calendars and have created more secular names (Kern). For example, they have changed Easter to ‘spring vacation’ and changed Christmas to ‘winter vacation’ (Kern). This change was needed in order to embrace multiculturalism and reduce a lot of the discrimination towards the Muslims in Wallonia. Most citizens had a hard time accepting this change because it would decrease their rights to free speech. Senators wanted to protect the rights and humility of the Muslim population however and made “”Islamophobia" a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment” (Kern).  They even made it clearer that “a person would be guilty if he considers Islam to be violent, threatening or supportive of terrorism… or considers Islam to be a political ideology, used for political and military purposes to establish it hegemony" (Kern). This ideology was mainly created through Muslim senators who do not consider the other religions and how they might be discriminated against.

 

Young extremist Muslims have been rising up and causing trouble and protests in European countries. Here is a picture of some young girls in the Northern region of Belgium (Flanders) who are in protest of the killing of the imam (male prayer leader) in a Muslim mosque. The murder hints at the extremism and the conflict between the Shi’ites and Sunni Muslims. The Muslims try to fit into Belgium, but are now fighting against their own people.

(flandersnews.be)

Works Cited

Advameg, Inc. . Belgium - Religions. n.d. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Belgium-RELIGIONS.html#ixzz3SLU8YKIK. 23 February 2015.

flandersnews.be. Thousands of Muslims protest about mosque killing in Brussels. 03 September 2012. http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws.english/News/1.1248889. 24 February 2015.

Kern, Soeren. Belgium erasing Christianity for Islam . 30 April 2013. http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3692/belgium-erasing-christianity. 23 February 2015.

Migration

Belgium has shown an increase in migrants in the past three decades from new Government policies and increased labor opportunities. These new migrants brought with them languages and cultural differences that naturally separated them from the native people of Belgium.  Because of this diversity the country split with the northern region as a (Dutch-speaking) area and the southern region as a (French-speaking) area.  The issuance of work permits exploded during the 1970s and this drove many foreigners to the country (Petrovic).  These have declined over the years since then.  Soon the permits landed in the hands of more skilled workers while Belgium also received more “European Union (EU) free movement workers, who live and work in Belgium but do not require work or residence permits under the European free movement legislation” (Petrovic). Citizens from the 27 EU Member States make up just over half of the total foreign population in Belgium” (Petrovic). 40 percent of the total immigrant population mostly comes from Italy, France, and the Netherlands, with Moroccans making up almost 8 percent of the population as well (Petrovic). To this day, Belgium is still imposing new policies and creating new plans for migration. Nowadays, the majority of Belgium’s migration is through local family connections outside the country, refugees, and students. A 2010 census showed 18 percent of the population as immigrants (Petrovic). This graph breaks down the number of different immigrants throughout the different regions of Belgium.

Table 1. Total Population by Nationality in Belgium

Belgian EU-27 Other Total Foreign Population Political Refugee Unknown Missing Total Belgium 9,832,010 746,972 372,284 1,119,256 2,801 2,456 802 10,951,266 Brussels Capital Region 766,744 221,482 130,862 352,344 616 1,135 99 1,119,088 Flanders 5,878,652 268,848 159,138 427,986 1,522 970 383 6,306,638 Wallonia 3,186,614 256,642 82,284 338,926 663 351 320 3,525,540 Source: National Statistics, population by nationality, January 1, 2011

Resources:

Petrovic, Milica. Belgium: A Country of Permanent Immigration. 15 November 2012. http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/belgium-country-permanent-immigration/.

Population

Belgium is a very diverse country made up of two major regions (the north and south) that harbors mainly the Dutch and French languages. Belgium as a whole makes up .15% of the total world population and has maintained a steady increase of population since around 1950 (World Population Review).

(populationdata.net)

Wallonia is the southern region of Belgium and its population makes up about 30% of Belgium’s total population. This self-governing region was created during the federalization of Belgium, largely because of the different ethnicities and languages in the 1980s and ’90s (Encyclopedia Britannica Inc.). As of 2010, Belgium’s overall population was 10.839 million, and Wallonia’s population was 3298 million (Wolf). Around the 1950’s Belgium had a greater population within the 0-4, 25-29, and 45-49 age ranges, possibly revealing lower life expectancy due to weaker health care. Now, Belgium shows an almost equal scale of all ages 60 and below (Wolf). 1308 million of Wallonia’s population is employed, and their population density is 3498 million/16844.3km^2 = 4.815 people per kilometer squared of area (AWEX). Wallonia’s population has been at a steady increase since its founding, and continues to flourish in the southern part of Belgium.

 

AWEX. Wallonia.be Export Investment. 2014. http://www.investinwallonia.be/wallonie-competitivite/chiffres-cles. 27 January 2015.

Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. . Wallonia . 2015. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/634954/Wallonia. 27 January 2015.

Populationdata.net. Belgium Maps . 2015. http://www.populationdata.net/indexcarte.php?option=pays&mid=1267&pid=23&nom=belgique-flamand. 27th January 2015.

Wolf, Marin De. Belgium 2015. 2012. http://populationpyramid.net/belgium/2015/. 27 January 2015.

World Population Review. Belgium Population. 2014. http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/belgium-population/. 27 January 2015.