Religion in Europe

11 Key excerpts on "Religion in Europe"

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  Religion and European Integration

  Religion as a Factor of Stability and Development in South Eastern Europe

  • Felix Unger, Ludvik Toplak, Silvo Devetak, Miroslav Polzer, Maria Eder, Felix Unger, Ludvik Toplak, Silvo Devetak, Miroslav Polzer, Maria Eder(Authors)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • VDG Weimar

    (Publisher)

  The Role of Religions Today 17 Religion in Europe. Sociological Considerations with Special Reference to Central and Eastern Europe MIKLOS TOMKA The end of the second millennium confronted Europe with tempting and threat-ening challenges. The iron curtain disappeared almost overnight. A population of similar size to those of democratic Western Europe got rid of communist totalitarianism and made first steps in freedom and democracy. All-European unification got a real chance. On the other hand, economic development of China and India accelerates and reduces the relative weight of Europe in global issues. Islam advances to an economic, political and ideological power released from the tutelage of America and Europe. And low birth rates, unemployment and secularization shake the traditional system of European society. In the frame-work of a new global order, supporting and endangering factors of peace and development in Europe are of vital interest. Religion has to be surveyed as one potential substantial factor. Greco-Roman culture was the soil, where both Western civilization and Eastern-Orthodox culture and Islam arose. Christianity and its Western practice induced yet innovations, which guided European socio-cultural development to paths, different from those in other continents. Individual and social life changed es-pecially in three fields fundamentally. The declaration of the absolute nature of God and simultaneously of the freedom of human beings opened the way to the emergence of the individual, with his/her personal conscience and responsibility, freed from the dominance of community (Dumont 1983). The affirmation of the autonomy of both sacred and profane realms enabled the autonomous existence of the spheres of politics, economy, arts and sciences, independent from religious ideas and prescriptions. The emergence of a growing number of autonomous subsystems contributes to advancing differentiation and complexity. Finally, in

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  Turkey and the Dilemma of EU Accession

  When Religion Meets Politics

  • Mirela Bogdani(Author)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • I.B. Tauris

    (Publisher)

  1 Religion in World and European Politics THE REVIVAL OF RELIGION IN WORLD AND EUROPEAN POLITICS 1 1.1 Religion and politics: the relationship between the two and the impact of religion on politics Many authors have presented and analysed the relationship of religion and politics. 1 During my study of this literature, I have identified three aspects to this relationship: the first is the general impact of religion on politics; the second is the return of religious discussion to world politics; and the third is the revival of religious discussion in European politics. With regard to the first, the general impact of religion on politics, a number of scholars recognise the important role that religion has played in world politics. Religious cultures have, in one way or another, contributed a great deal to politics. Elisabeth Hurd argues that ‘Cultural and religious systems of belief and practices they engender are powerful determinants of modern domestic politics and influential contribution to contemporary international politics both in the West and outside it’. 2 Steve Bruce in his Politics and Religion book notes that ‘the Protestant Reformation – a change in religious culture – set in chain a variety of complex developments that played a major part in the creation of liberal-democracy’. 3 He argues that Protestantism encouraged democracy in three ways: first, it played an important part in the rise of capitalism and the growth in prosperity; second it 2 Turkey and the Dilemma of EU Accession encouraged individualism and egalitarianism; third it created a context of religious diversity. Not only in the past, but still today we see many examples of the impact of religion on politics: the Evangelical upsurge in Latin America, Muslim-Christian rivalries in Africa, disputes between Arabs and Israelis, the rise of Hindu fundamentalists in India, and secularist-religious struggles in Turkey.

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  Politics in France and Europe

  • P. Perrineau, P. Perrineau, Kenneth A. Loparo, Luc Rouban, P. Perrineau, Luc Rouban(Authors)
  • 2009(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  CHAPTER 3 Religion and Politics Jean- Marie Donegani E urope is the only continent to have been wholly Christianized. The Gospels began to be preached in the second century, they reached the former territories of the Roman Empire in the sixth century, and the rest of Europe was converted during the ninth and tenth centuries. Nevertheless, after an initial period of unity, the history of the continent was marked by a number of splits, starting with the schism between the Western and Orthodox churches in the eleventh century, followed by the Muslim conquest of the Balkans in the fifteenth century and the Reformation in the sixteenth century. The impact of these ruptures was still being felt across Europe centuries later, notably in the conflicts which have punctuated Irish history since the begin- ning of the last century, as well as the wars in Eastern Europe and Bosnia and Herzegovina which followed the disintegration of the communist bloc. In other words, far from being a unifying force, Europe’s religious baggage has been a constant source of divisiveness, manifesting itself not only in tension between nations, but also in relations between Church and State, and in the attitudes and behavior of various European populations. From this point of view, France occupies a particular place. France’s revolution—the first great revolution of the eighteenth century—led to the substantial modification of the alliance between the Catholic Church and the State, and provided a model of the sec- ularization of politics which was subsequently adopted in other countries. For so long the fille ainée de l’ Eglise (“the Catholic Church’s eldest daughter”), France is today the European country which has gone furthest in escaping the grip of religion, followed slowly but surely by its European neighbors, and set- ting the tone for the future of Religion in Europe.

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  Europe: Civilizations Clashing

  From Athens to the European Union

  • Piotr Jaroszynski, Lindael Rolstone(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Peter Lang Group

    (Publisher)

  III. Religion Influences Culture Religion begins to shape the European culture, having a profound influence upon it. The influence of religion upon Europe’s culture will be explored. Clashes and differing belief systems will transpire between Muslims (Islam) and Christians; then divisions will occur within Christianity itself. An anti- Greek (De Hellenization) and an anti-Christianity movement begins. These all create a colorful tapestry of diverging philosophical debates and cultural clashes. Christianity Offers Culture a Living Style Christianity and the Greco – Roman culture, formed a unique culture that became the defining characteristic of Europe. It is impossible to discourse medieval philosophy and culture, without discussing the religious impact of Christianity, and then the impact of Islam. Because Christianity was a key determinant in the formation of a European culture, it is fitting to give an account about the origins of Christianity, what Christians do believe, and how these beliefs have translated into action. Christian beliefs will be contrasted with Muslim beliefs, because the faith of Islam has been, and continues to be one strong apposing factor in Christian Europeanism. This topic will be mentioned in this chapter, and expanded in the following chapters. 63 63 Christians believe in a supreme God who is Love. This God loves uncondition- ally, and forgives anything and everything if asked. Reconciliation with this God, and with each other, is a mandatory part of being a Christian. For this reason, the God who Christians venerate, is thought by Christians to give people and the world a reason for hope and peace. Bible: see Jeremiah 31:3; 1 john 4:8; 1 john 1:9; Luke 17:4. The basic premises of the Christian faith are: Jesus Christ of Nazareth was born from a young woman, the Virgin Mary, and was crucified, in Jerusalem, about 2000 years ago. This occurred because some Jewish leaders wanted to have Christ crucified.

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  Cultural Overstretch?

  Differences Between Old and New Member States of the EU and Turkey

  • Jurgen Gerhards(Author)
  • 2007(Publication Date)
  • Taylor & Francis

    (Publisher)

  2 Religion in a wider Europe

  Religion strongly influences people’s behavior and is a central element in societal culture. The influence of religion is evident through directly related actions such as: praying, attending church, eating particular foods or the way the calendar year is arranged. Religious orientations also influence non-religious activities, such as: voting behavior, economic behavior and moral attitudes toward questions, e.g. abortion and homosexuality (Pickel 2001). They can provoke conflicts and even civil wars, such as those between Muslims and Hindus in India and Pakistan, between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, and the continuing tensions in the Balkans. The United States is an example of a modernized country in which this strong relationship between religion and politics holds true: American presidents typically end their public addresses with “God bless America.”1

  Some political scientists and political actors emphasize the importance of religion for a common European culture (Kallscheuer 1996, Rémond 1998, Zulehner and Denz 1994). For these actors, the central issue surrounding Turkey’s accession into the EU is not economic, but cultural-religious. Those opposing the accession of Turkey try to demonstrate that today’s EU members are, due to completely divergent histories, fundamentally different from Turkish citizens. Paramount among these differences is religious orientation – people in the EU are predominantly Christian, those in Turkey, Muslim. Therefore, Europe and Turkey are not culturally similar enough to be included in the same common Union (Wehler 2002). In drawing the borders of his cultural map of the world, Samuel Huntington (1996) is even stricter about the West. Not only does he exclude Muslims, but also Orthodox Christians. Huntington views the spreading of Protestantism and Catholicism as the central criteria for defining Europe’s border (Huntington 1996:251ff.).2

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  An Introduction to Immigrant Incorporation Studies

  European Perspectives

  • Jan Rath, Marco Martiniello, Marco Martiniello, Jan Rath(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Amsterdam University Press

    (Publisher)

  The decline in Christianity’s membership (Lam-bert 2006) confirms a general European trend towards ‘belonging with-out believing’ (Davie 2002). The perceived natural tie binding European political cultures to secularism can thus be perceived as corroborated by these institutional and statistical assessments, but it is more accurate to say that Europe is in fact at a turning point for religiosity. Indeed, what was so quick to be considered the irremediable and somehow logical decline of religion in EU societies was slowed, or rather counterbalanced, dur-ing the 1990s, at least as far as the relationship to the religious institutions is concerned. Therefore, it can be said that there are now three trends at work in Western Europe, with national variations from one country to the other: exit from religion, a Christian renewal and the pattern of ‘believing without belonging’ (Lambert 2006). European contexts have been classi-fied into three groups (Catholic countries, Protestant countries and mixed countries), with each group showing various levels of religiosity: 75 per cent of European people are religious and rates of religious affiliation are highest in Poland and Italy; France has a high percentage (42 per cent) of non-religious individuals; Austria and the UK are somewhere on the mid-dle of the scale ( Religion Monitor 2008). 11 It is therefore difficult to render the religious European panorama with precision. Christian tradition still dominates in terms of numbers and overarching frames, but religious diversities, according to denominations (religious belonging) and level of practice, are striking across the countries. The religious European landscape continues to be shaped by Christian tra-ditions even though immigration has contributed to diversification. The difficulty in assessing the meaning of religion for social actors is mostly due to the necessity of distinguishing between practice, membership and conviction.

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  Central Europe Revisited

  Why Europe's Future Will Be Decided in the Region

  • Emil Brix, Erhard Busek(Authors)
  • 2021(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  8The role of religion

  The most dramatic and multifaceted changes in Central Europe were driven by religion. Prior to the fall of the Iron Curtain, the European consensus was that of a Catholic world alongside a Protestant world. The last major conflict between the two Christian faiths goes back to the 30 Years War and to Martin Luther's transformative entry into history. Gradual secularization reinforced this consensus. The founding fathers of European integration certainly had the idea of Christian Europe, the Occident and the Holy Roman Empire in their minds. Greece has been shaped by Orthodoxy, but this has not caused major political or cultural tensions among EU members, even though the issue of religion had to be settled during the talks on the regulation of personal documents. The Orthodox Church managed to assert itself when Greece made participation in the uniformity of personal documents contingent on the inclusion of religious affiliation. Protestant state churches in Scandinavia had their own set ways, but this has not caused any conflict either. The special mix of denominations in the Netherlands was an issue at one point, as were the Catholic-Protestant conflicts in Ireland.

  All of this easing has since changed dramatically in more than one aspect. Following the fall of the Iron Curtain and the changes in Moscow, Orthodoxy gained importance due its historically strong political influence in Byzantium/Constantinople. EU expansion to Bulgaria and Romania, as well as the Serbian membership application, has brought about additional changes. Relations with Bosnia-Herzegovina, and to a lesser degree with Albania, forced the EU to deal with Islam in earnest for the first time. Developments in Turkey, and particularly events in the Islamic world and in the Near East, have changed the dynamics completely. The tendencies within Orthodoxy differ from country to country. The importance of external influences, however, is more relevant in Islam. Orthodoxy and Islam have, though, one thing in common: the absence of central institutions. Rome is the centre of Catholicism, while Orthodoxy, with its “nation states”-like organisation, does not have the comparable concept of centre. Commonality is not inherent in Autocephaly, the independence of patriarchies, but lately there seem to have been efforts to rectify this. The manner in which Moscow succeeded in developing close political cooperation with Orthodoxy in the post-soviet years, with possibly far-reaching consequences for Europe, is noteworthy. The split between the western exarchates (independent organisational units) and their eastern counterparts were only recently averted, but one does not know for how long. The recognition of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the Patriarch of Constantinople caused a new rift with Russia – both the Russian leadership and the Patriarch of Moscow rejected the decision. As a result, there are now two competing Orthodox Churches in the Ukraine. Islam is an even more complex issue: it is not only the Sunnite-Shiite chasm, but also the multitude of orientations and schools that appear even more nuanced in the light of current events. The proliferation of factions is clearly driven by politics. This very dynamic transformation within Islam is also at the root of many changes in Central Europe, and is, therefore, of tremendous relevance for all of us. These trends propel Central Europe closer to the Mediterranean, something not seen previously in Italy or in the Iberian Peninsula. The massive migration movements of our times only deepen the ties between Central Europe and the Mediterranean. It is no coincidence that political debates are so very heated on the subject of road closures, as for instance, in the case of the Brenner Pass.

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  Religion and Everyday Life and Culture

  [3 volumes]

  • Vincent F. Biondo, Richard D. Hecht, Vincent F. Biondo, Richard D. Hecht(Authors)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • Praeger

    (Publisher)

  These movements felt the effects of external suggestions and rediscovered medieval Catholic mysticism. Though these phenomena were minor, they furthered the creation of a cultural system whose religious references expanded to include not only Christian elements, but also different ways of imagining spirituality and divinity. One reason of their success was the fact that some actors, singers, and other famous people belonged to such cults. Their adherence brought these cults public attention, while fueling much emulation. The European religious outlook broadened as syncretism and hybridization began to occur among both traditional religions and new religious movements and cults. Therefore, the most important issue faced by contemporary European religions is the coexistence of different religious traditions inside the same territory. In many ways, it is a new phenomenon. Although different religions 384 Religion in the Practice of Daily Life in World History had coexisted in Europe and although every culture is the result of hybridi- zation and the encounter of different customs, the extent of this phenomenon in the twentieth century is unprecedented. Starting in the1970s, the immi- gration of people from former Asian and African colonies created a sudden and significant shift in the religious makeup of European society. Immigrant groups usually settle in urban areas. They often introduce chains of migration that create heavy religious concentrations in certain city districts. Increasing migration broke the relative correspondence between religious affiliation and territory through the pluralization of religious references. Apart from histori- cal religious enclaves, such as Jewish communities, European countries were, in terms of religion, quite homogeneous until the first half of the twentieth century.

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  The Political Theology of European Integration

  Comparing the Influence of Religious Histories on European Policies

  • Mark R. Royce(Author)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Palgrave Macmillan

    (Publisher)

  Nelsen and Guth, most recently, much extend their previous researches in Religion and the Struggle for European Union: Confessional Culture and the Limits of Integration (2015), which also argues that Catholic and Protestant doctrines have, respectively, produced Europeanism and Euro-skepticism. In a thesis paragraph, they write, “Catholics rejected fragmentation and remained committed to a unified Europe—Latin Christendom—while Protestants found refuge in the sepa- rate and new European nation-states . . . making it more difficult for Protestant leaders—even four hundred years later—to abandon their bor- ders” (4). This landmark study by two senior scholars unites history, theology, diplomatic relations, and other socio-political traits in an analysis of confessional cultures, “‘overall ways of life’ shaped by particular religious traditions” (10) that have disposed both elites and publics to approach the European question in different ways; and its both range and depth of content cannot be too highly recommended. Although covering much of the same theological material, this study shall subject each of its national observations to a Boolean method they do not employ and through its case chapters shall trace the research hypotheses somewhat differently, hopefully contributing to the auspicious new directions developing within existing literature. CONCLUSION In summation, this study develops at the confluence of a perhaps unusually large variety of research literatures. The discipline of sociology, to begin with, is author of most sophisticated theoretical thinking about religion in the world, though Western Europe has long served as its special province. Sociologists had for many years proudly considered religion a declining and falling force, and while most would probably still predict some version of secularization for the future, their theories have grown less universal and unqualified.

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  Human Geography

  People, Place, and Culture

  • Erin H. Fouberg, Alexander B. Murphy(Authors)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  186 CHAPTER 7 Religion CHAPTER OUTLINE 7.1 Describe the nature of religion and its cultural significance. 7.2 Describe the distribution of major religions and the factors that shaped their diffusion. • The World Map of Religions Today • From the Hearth of South Asia • From the Hearth of the Huang He Valley • From the Hearth of the Eastern Mediterranean • Beyond the Major Religious Hearths 7.3 Explain how cultural landscapes reflect religious ideas and practices. • Sacred Sites • Landscapes of Hinduism and Buddhism • Landscapes of Christianity • Landscapes of Islam 7.4 Identify and describe the role religion plays in political conflicts. • Conflicts Along Religious Borders • Israel and Palestine • Nigeria • Northern Ireland • Conflicts in the Face of Migration • Religious Fundamentalism and Extremism Michael Gottschalk/Photothek/Getty Images FIGURE 7.1 Frankfurt, Germany. Only a small percentage of traditional- minded Islamic women in the Middle East cover their faces. In Europe the percentage is even smaller—far less than 1 percent of the total Islamic population in Europe. Nonetheless, the presence of niqabs and burqas have generated controversy in some European countries. What the burqa or niqabi means to Muslim women and how it is perceived varies across Europe. While much of Europe’s history, art, and architec- ture is religious, church attendance is low and the role of religion in society is declining as the region has become increasingly secular. Migrants from North Africa and Southwest Asia who were invited into Europe as guest workers after World War II brought Islam to cities in northern and western Europe through relocation diffusion. While Muslims comprise less than 5 percent of the population of Europe and Muslims who wear the burqa or niqabi are a fraction of that, several countries in the European Union have passed laws banning traditional face coverings in public places. The main targets are burqas or niqabi worn by observant Muslim women (Fig. 7.1).

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  Expanding Religion

  Religious Revival in Post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe

  • Miklós Tomka(Author)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • De Gruyter

    (Publisher)

  Religion, politics, public a ě airs In our age, the majority of intellectuals take it for granted that the religious and political spheres are separate and autonomous. In the life and thinking of European post-communist societies, however, this relationship was more complicated. In issues su Ė as the organisation of 172 A role of religion in the organization of life the economy and politics, the provision of democracy and peace or the preservation of social sensitivity, in the average of 14 Eastern and Central European countries, 40-50-60 percent of people were of the opinion that it was necessary to observe religious principles, while 20-30 percent of society believed this to be unnecessary – at least according to the ę ndings of the Au Ġ ru Ė resear Ė in 2008 45 (Table 21). Table 21 : Percentage of people who agree or disagree with statements concerning the political and public role of religion. Does not agree at all Mostly disa-grees Both agrees and disa-grees Mostly agrees Fully agrees Those who agree in the % of those who disagree Christianity strengthens the peace in Europe. 6.5 10.8 25.0 34.3 23.4 3.34 The in Ě uence of religion is important for the future of the world. 10.0 10.4 27.9 30.0 21.7 2.53 Europe needs Christian-ity in order to preserve social sensitivity. 8.2 13.9 26.4 32.5 18.9 2.33 It is important for the economic development of our country that the moral principles of religion are taken into account. 12.3 13.2 27.8 27.8 18.9 1.83 It would be worthy of European history if the European constitution referred to God. 13.5 16.5 28.7 24.2 17.0 1.37 To strengthen democ-racy, it is important that the Church should have a part in the process. 14.3 16.8 29.4 24.4 15.1 1.27 Average 11.5 14.0 26.6 29.3 18.6 1.88 Note: In the population of 14 Eastern and Central European countries.

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