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'''Great Britain''' is a [[Europe]]an island consisting of [[England]], [[Scotland]], and [[Wales]], all of which send representatives to the Parliament of the [[United Kingdom]].  The "United Kingdom" consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. "Great Britain" also has a purely geographic meaning, as the largest [[island]] of the [[British Isles]].

'''Great Britain''' is a [[Europe]]an island consisting of [[England]], [[Scotland]], and [[Wales]], all of which send representatives to the Parliament of the [[United Kingdom]].  The "United Kingdom" consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. "Great Britain" also has a purely geographic meaning, as the largest [[island]] of the [[British Isles]].

In the second century, Greek-Egyptian geographer Ptolemy called the island ''megale Brettania'' (great Britain) to distinguish it from ''mikra Brettania'' (little Britain), meaning Ireland. In 1548, English regent Lord Somerset proposed that England and Scotland should unite "like as twoo brethren of one Islande of great Britaynes again." The name was adopted by James I when he became king of both England and Scotland in 1604.

Great Britain rose as a predominantly [[Christian]] nation to spectacular success as the [[British Empire]], peaking betweeing 1815 and 1915, but then declined under [[atheism]] as propagated by its [[secular]] higher education. Today most [[Brit]]s say they have "no religion," and the country is just a shell of its former preeminence, ranking only as the fifth largest economy in the world by GDP. While the costs of fighting two world wars and giving up its Empire have been cited as signicantly weakening the British economy during the 20th Century, the moral decay wrought by adherence to [[Charles Darwin]] and other atheistic theories has harmed it more.  

Once the largest economy and the pre-eminent nation in the world (from about 1815 to 1915), Great Britain has since been overtaken by other industrialized countries with larger populations but still remains the fifth largest economy in the world by GDP. The costs of fighting two world wars and giving up its Empire had significant impacts on the British economy during the 20th Century. Great Britain is a founding member of NATO, the Commonwealth, the UN security council and various other international bodies.  According to the United Nations, the UK  rates very highly for "human development", democracy and business opportunity. Socially Great Britain has changed dramatically over the last 100 years as the population has become more liberal, socialist and secular (according to the last UK census in 2011 approx 26% of the population describe themselves as atheist, 60% as Christian, 4.5% Muslim and the balance as other religions - actual religious observance of any type is low within all the religious groups).

Great Britain is a founding member of NATO, the Commonwealth, the UN security council and various other international bodies.  According to the United Nations, the UK  rates very highly for "human development", democracy and business opportunity. Socially Great Britain has changed dramatically over the last 100 years as the population has become more liberal, socialist and secular (according to the last UK census in 2011 approx 26% of the population describe themselves as atheist, 60% as Christian, 4.5% Muslim and the balance as other religions - actual religious observance of any type is low within all the religious groups).

The subsidies from the United States to pay for its national defense through NATO allows the majority of the British people to be more concerned with the [[welfare state]], health care provision and funding (The NHS is a free at the point of delivery health care system funded by taxation), education, immigration, climate change and environmental protection, the negative economic impacts of BREXIT and the government's mixed response to COVID 19.

The subsidies from the United States to pay for its national defense through NATO allows the majority of the British people to be more concerned with the [[welfare state]], health care provision and funding (The NHS is a free at the point of delivery health care system funded by taxation), education, immigration, climate change and environmental protection, the negative economic impacts of BREXIT and the government's mixed response to COVID 19.

Little remains of British rule today across the globe, and it is mostly restricted to small island territories such as Bermuda and the Falkland Islands. However, a number of countries still have Queen Elizabeth as their head of state including New Zealand, Australia and Canada - a hangover of the Empire.<ref>[https://www.theweek.co.uk/tags/british-empire  ''How big was the British Empire and why did it collapse?''], The Week</ref>}}

Little remains of British rule today across the globe, and it is mostly restricted to small island territories such as Bermuda and the Falkland Islands. However, a number of countries still have Queen Elizabeth as their head of state including New Zealand, Australia and Canada - a hangover of the Empire.<ref>[https://www.theweek.co.uk/tags/british-empire  ''How big was the British Empire and why did it collapse?''], The Week</ref>}}

== See also ==

== See also ==