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Davie, Grace --- "Understanding religion in Europe: a continually evolving mosaic" [2012] ELECD 1292; in Cumper, Peter; Lewis, Tom (eds), "Religion, Rights and Secular Society" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012) 251

Book Title: Religion, Rights and Secular Society

Editor(s): Cumper, Peter; Lewis, Tom

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849803670

Section: Chapter 13

Section Title: Understanding religion in Europe: a continually evolving mosaic

Author(s): Davie, Grace

Number of pages: 20

Abstract/Description:

There are different ways of looking at the religious situation in Europe: the first considers the features that are common to Europe as a whole; the second looks at the differences across the continent. Both are important. This chapter will start by looking at a range of factors that can be found in all 27 member states of the European Union, bearing in mind that their relative strength varies. The second section will develop a series of variations based on the different confessional blocs (Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant) that constitute the Christian churches of Europe. It will also consider the contrasts between what is commonly known as western Europe and the parts of the continent that were under communist domination from 1948 to 1989. In the latter, the religious trajectory is noticeably different. The third section points to the paradox that underlies a great deal of this book: on one hand are the relatively high levels of secularity in most if not all of Europe, but on the other is the marked resurgence of religion in public debate – a combination that was not anticipated in the immediate postwar decades. Two points are central to this discussion. It is important to grasp, firstly, that this combination is indeed a ‘paradox’ in the sense that the elements in question are not related to each other but have nonetheless occurred at the same time. Secondly, the paradox is best understood in light of the shifting relationship between the public and private. A short discussion of this relationship, and its implications for the study of religion, concludes the chapter.