Are migrants in Europe likely to be more secular or more religious than European-born nationals? Most studies tend to suggest that migrants are generally more religious than national-born Europeans and that for some at least, the fact of relocating to, or being resettled in, a new country can be a catalyst in a change of religious affiliation and identity
Read MoreIf we want to survive in today’s Europe, we actively need to challenge the gods of our time.. For, as Jesus himself put it: “You cannot serve both God and …” If we actively serve the gods of Europe, we may in the end find ourselves not worshiping the God of the Universe.
Read MoreA study released in 2018 entitled “Europe’s Young Adults and Religion,” by British professor of theology and sociology of religion Stephen Bullivant, demonstrates one of the most crucial issues for mission in Europe today.
Read MoreOver the last few decades, we have been witnessing the persistence and even the resurgence of religious beliefs and practices in societies that had undergone a long process of secularisation.
Read MoreA YouGov survey of 1,660 people in the UK suggested that there are more people attending church (albeit less frequently), a reduction in the number of professed atheists, an increase in the number of agnostics, and an increase in the numbers of those who say they pray occasionally …
Read MoreThe same year that Charles Taylor published A Secular Age (2007), Philip Jenkins also wrote about the interface between religion and secular society in his book God’s Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe’s Religious Crisis …
Read MoreTwo swallows don’t make a summer, says the proverb. Yet two recent Dutch books about reflection on roots could perhaps signal a significant climate change in Europe concerning interest in the Bible and Christianity.
Read MoreTo date there have been two principal attempts to make Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age more accessible to the general reader.
Read MoreThe famous maxim that “demography is destiny” may, or may not, be attributable to Auguste Comte, but it was certainly Comte who first wrote about how population trends and distributions could determine the future of a country.
Read MoreOne of the most striking aspects of the socioreligious context of Europe is the high proportion of so-called nominal Christians. These are people who are affiliated to a Church and/or identifying as ‘Christian’ in surveys.
Read MoreThe Lausanne Global Consultation on Nominal Christianity was held in Rome, Italy on 14-18 March 2018. What follows is the full text of the Lausanne Rome 2018 Statement on Nominal Christianity, issued after that consultation.
Read MoreContemporary Christian beliefs and behaviours in Western Europe are rarely researched beyond the national level. To address this knowledge gap, Pew Research have published a comprehensive 156-page research report
Read MoreIt took only few years before the countries from the Communist block dismantled the one party systems and introduced political pluralism as a precondition to transition into democracies.
Read MoreIs there a relationship between religious freedoms and secularity? We take some recognized measures of religious liberty and investigate the relationship with the NOVA Index of Secularity.
Read MoreI know a church which one hundred years ago had 900 young people attending its Sunday school every week. Its current weekly attendance is probably closer to 90, of all ages. What went wrong?
Read MoreWhile Europe as a whole may be seen as increasingly secular, there are a surprising number of mentions of God, the church and religion in the constitutions of individual countries. The table below gives an overview
Read MoreIs there any reliable way to assess the process of secularisation? If secularity is the result of this process is there any way to meassure the current state of secularity in Europe?
Read MoreReaders of Vista can hardly be unaware that over the last five years or so, the wearing of a cross in public or the displaying of a crucifix on the walls of a public school, hospital or office has become a focus for social policy legislators
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On the Pope’s recent visit to the UK, Benedict XVI launched a blistering attack on “aggressive secularism” which seeks to exclude “God, religion and virtue from public life”. Despite a rocky start, the media generally applauded his comments
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