Religion in Greece

The prominent religion in Greece is Greek Orthodox, a branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the second largest denomination of Christianity. This affects their culture in that they practice Greek Orthodox ceremonies and all students are required to take religious studies. The Greek Orthodox Church boasts about 98% of the population and is the only church under the Eastern Orthodox Church that is recognized as a state and therefore is pretty much exempt from taxes and the clergies' salaries are paid for by the state.

Climate in Greece

In terms of weather, Greece is known for its Mediterranean climate, which is one of the many reasons tourists flock to this country in the hot, dry summer months. That and the wonders of island-hopping. The average low for Athens in January is 6 degrees Celsius (as a Canadian, this seems more like spring to me).

Sounds nice to the tourists but for the locals: not so peachy. Droughts and wildfires due to this climate are inevitable but the real problem is the air and water pollution. Over the past few decades, Greece has gone through many changes in the economy with tourism, transportation, and urbanization, all contributing to the decline in natural resources and the current environmental issues. The pollution in the air is evident in pictures and to people living or visiting and is health hazardous.