state in northwestern Africa. It has the shape of an indented rectangle measuring about 930 miles (1,500 kilometres) from north to south and about 680 miles from east to west. It is bordered to the northwest by the Western Sahara (formerly...

Protestant religious movement originated by John Wesley in 18th-century England. Wesley, an Anglican clergyman, underwent an epiphany in 1738 in which he felt an assurance of personal salvation, and he soon began open-air preaching. Method...

Island group, western Pacific Ocean. A subdivision of Oceania, it comprises Kiribati, Guam, Nauru, the Northern Marianas, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau. Located mostly north of the Equator, Micronesia ...

sovereign principality located along the Mediterranean Sea in the midst of the resort area of the Côte d'Azur (French Riviera). The city of Nice lies 9 miles (15 km) to the west, the Italian border 5 miles (8 km) to the east. Monaco'...

mountainous country of western North Africa that lies directly across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain. The traditional domain of indigenous nomadic peoples—now collectively known as Berbers, but more correctly referred to as Imazi...

Country, Southeast Asia, on the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Area: 261,228 sq mi (676,577 sq km). Population (2006 est.): 47,383,000. Capitals: official, Naypyidaw (near Pyinmana), proclaimed 2006; historical, Yangôn (Rangoon),...

island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of a raised coral island located in southeastern Micronesia, 25 miles (40 km) south of the Equator. The island is about 800 miles (1,300 km) northeast of the Solomon Islands; it...

country located in northwestern Europe, also known as Holland. ‘‘Netherlands'' means low-lying country; the name Holland (from Houtland, or “Wooded Land”) was originally given to one of the medieval cores of what la...

city, southwestern Nicaragua. It lies at the foot of Mombacho Volcano on the northwestern shore of Lake Nicaragua at 202 feet (62 m) above sea level. Granada was founded in 1523 by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, and it soon ...

country located on the western coast of Africa. Nigeria has a diverse geography, with climates ranging from arid to humid equatorial. However, Nigeria's most diverse feature is its people. Hundreds of languages are spoken in the country, i...

Notes on Contributors Abela, Anthony M. Contributor and peer reviewer. Associate professor of sociology and social policy, University of Malta; principal investigator, European Values Study, Malta; and member, European Values Steering Commi...

Religion of Jews who adhere strictly to traditional beliefs and practices; the official form of Judaism in Israel. Orthodox Jews hold that both the written law (Torah) and the oral law (codified in the Mishna and interpreted in the Talmud)...

country in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of some 340 coral and volcanic islands perched on the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. The Palau (also spelled Belau or Pelew) archipelago lies in the southwest corner of Micronesia, with Guam 830 miles...

landlocked country in south-central South America. Paraguay's recent history has been characterized by turbulence and authoritarian rule. It was involved in two of the three major wars on the continent—the War of the Triple Alliance ...

country of East Asia. It is the largest of all Asian countries and has the largest population of any country in the world. Occupying nearly the entire East Asian landmass, it occupies approximately one-fourteenth of the land area of the Ea...

Island country, western Pacific Ocean, on an archipelago off the southeast coast of Asia. Area: 122,121 sq mi (316,294 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 84,191,000. Capital: Manila; Quezon City is the designated centre of national government...

country lying along the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe. Once continental Europe's greatest power, Portugal shares commonalities—geographic and cultural—with the countries of both northern Europe ...

independent emirate on the west coast of the Persian Gulf. Occupying a small desert peninsula that extends northward from the larger Arabian Peninsula, it has been continuously but sparsely inhabited since prehistoric times. Following the ...

country of western Europe occupying five-sixths of the westernmost island of the British Isles. The magnificent scenery of Ireland's Atlantic coastline faces a 2,000-mile- (3,200-km-) wide expanse of ocean, and its geographic isolation has...

country lying in the eastern half of the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is the largest country of the peninsula. The national capital is Bucharest. Romania was occupied by Soviet troops in 1944 and became a satellite of the Un...

the peoples of the Republic of Rwanda, who speak an Interlacustrine Bantu language known as Rwanda. The Rwanda are divided into two main ethnic groups: the Hutu, traditionally farmers; and the Tutsi, traditionally cattle-owning pastoralist...

island state in the Caribbean Sea. The second largest of the Windward group in the Lesser Antilles, it is located about 24 miles (39 kilometres) south of Martinique and some 21 miles northeast of Saint Vincent. Saint Lucia is 27 miles long...

small republic situated on the slopes of Mount Titano, on the Adriatic side of central Italy between the Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions and surrounded on all sides by the Republic of Italy. It is the smallest independent state in Europe...

island republic in the western Indian Ocean, consisting of about 115 islands. Situated between latitude 4° and 11° S and longitude 46° and 56° E, the major islands of Seychelles are located about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) east...

indigenous religious beliefs and practices of Japan. The word Shintō, which literally means “the way of kami” (kami means “mystical,” “superior,” or “divine,” generally sacred or divine...