The Re-Politicization of Religion in Europe: The Next Ten Years

In the coming decade religion will become an increasingly salient issue in European politics. This prediction runs counter to the conventional wisdom that Europeans are “post-Christian.” When comparing Europe to the United States, observers note that church pews are empty, that fewer people profess...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Perspectives on politics 2005-09, Vol.3 (3), p.554-557
Main Author: Klausen, Jytte
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Christian privilege
Christianity
Christians
Church State Relationship
Churches
Europe
European Union
Faith
Futures (of Society)
Islam
Judaism
Muslims
Political debate
Political parties
Public Policy
Religious Pluralism
SYMPOSIUM: TEN YEARS FROM NOW
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Summary:In the coming decade religion will become an increasingly salient issue in European politics. This prediction runs counter to the conventional wisdom that Europeans are “post-Christian.” When comparing Europe to the United States, observers note that church pews are empty, that fewer people profess to believe in God, and that Europeans are moral relativists who shy away from principled positions against authoritarian countries. In the European view, modernization implies secularization, and by this standard Europeans are modern while Americans are, depending on who the observer is, either postmodern or irrational. Why then are we flooded with evidence of the “re-Christianization” of Europe?Jytte Klausen is associate professor of comparative politics at Brandeis University (klausen@brandeis.edu).
ISSN:1537-5927
1541-0986
DOI:10.1017/S1537592705280349