Christianity / The Pope marks a quarter of a century in his role as the head of the Catholic Church, in a continent with far fewer believers
Frank Bruni, New York Times
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Rome. This week Pope John Paul celebrates 25 years in his position as head of the Catholic Church, the largest church in Europe and in Christianity as a whole. It was a quarter of a century of tremendous changes, one of the most important of which was the decline of the Christian faith in Europe and the transfer of its center of gravity to the southern hemisphere.
Christianity is flourishing in developing countries. It successfully competes with Islam, deepens its influence and may even find its future in these regions. Europe, on the other hand, looks more and more like a tourist route of monuments commemorating the past of Christianity.
The secularization of Europe, some political commentators believe, is one of the forces that further distances it from the United States, where religion plays a powerful role in politics and society. Americans are generally perceived as being more comfortable with ideas of good and bad, right and wrong, compared to Europeans, who tend to see this as a reckless perception of reality.
In France - a predominantly Catholic country but also avowedly secular - one out of every 20 people participates in a religious ceremony every week, compared to one out of every three in the US. In fact, the greatest hope of Christianity in Europe may now be found precisely among the immigrants from the developing countries. Many of them learned about the religion from European missionaries, adapted and changed it to their needs, and then brought it back to the continent. In cities like Paris, Amsterdam and especially London, there are many thriving black churches, filled to capacity with new immigrants from Nigeria, Sierra Leone and other African countries. A recent report by the British research group Research Christian stated that blacks, and to a lesser extent Asians, make up more than half of central London churchgoers on any given Sunday, even though they number less than a quarter of the city's population.
According to some estimates, more than 25 million people in England state the Anglican Church as their religion; Only 1.2 million actually go to church every week. "In Western Europe we are dependent on containment," wrote Reverend David Cornick, general secretary of the United Reformed Church in Britain, in the June-July edition of InsideOut, a religious magazine. "The fact is that Europe is no longer Christian."
In a way this is an exaggeration. Despite the influx of Muslim immigrants, the vast majority of Europeans who consider themselves religious to one degree or another define themselves as Christians. But for most of them, Christianity is an abstract spiritual tendency rather than a demanding faith. Stephanie Vehkema, a 31-year-old flower shop saleswoman from Lille in France, wears a cross around her neck and says that thanks to it she was saved in a car accident a few years ago. "There is a God," she said, "otherwise I wouldn't be here today." But she never goes to church.
According to the "European Values Study", a comprehensive survey conducted in 2000-1999, in most European countries there is a significant majority that believes in God, and also believes that it is important to hold some religious ceremony when a person dies. However, Europeans are less aware of – or less connected to – the specific rituals of the Christian liturgy. "If you ask the average European what the basic 'I believe' of the church is, most of them don't know," said Grace Davey, a sociologist at the University of Exeter who has written books on religious trends in Britain and Europe.
Church officials also confirm this assessment. Last month, Cardinal Dionigi Tattamanzi, the archbishop of Milan, who is considered to have good chances to succeed the current pope, said at a press conference: "The parish churches tell me that there are children who do not know how to cross themselves. In the popular schools, they don't know who Jesus is."
According to the "European Values Study", only 21% of all Europeans said that religion is "very important" to them. A Gallup poll conducted this year shows that 58% of Americans define religion this way. Even in Italy, where 33% described religion as "very important", the proportion of Italians who go to church every week ranges from 15% to 33%. It seems that most Italians do not listen to the Vatican, although 85% define themselves as Catholics and even though the Pope resides among them . John Paul called them to cow and multiply and forbade them to use contraceptives, but for 25 years Italy has had one of the lowest birth rates in the world.
The Europeans are far ahead of the Americans - and challenge traditional Christian views more - in granting recognition within the framework of civil marriage to same-sex couples. But the declining influence of Christianity is not only expressed in low birth rates and new legislation. Western European public schools removed crosses from walls; Many Christian communities have had to close or combine their activities with other communities and make do with part-time pastors.
It is not easy to find in Europe a religious fervor like that which characterizes many Americans, including the president. But this passion exists, if you know where to look for it. On Sunday a few weeks ago at least 3,000 people showed up at the Kingsway Christian Center in East London. Some of them were clapping, singing and moving from the moment they got out of their cars. The face of the pastor, Matthew Ashimolowu, beamed from television screens in the huge hall. "If you don't change your thinking from smelly thinking, your life will stink," he told the congregants, who responded with chants of "Hallelujah!" And "Amen!"
Ashimolowu, a Nigerian immigrant, opened the center 11 years ago and now has around 10,000 members in East London. Many of them are from Africa or their parents came from there. They did not find in the Protestant and Catholic churches what they remembered and loved from home: excitement, spontaneity and a kind of inspiration that goes straight to their hearts.
In European cities, independent churches arose to satisfy their needs. The worshipers sometimes go into ecstasy and participate in "healing through faith". Today, evidence is accumulating that the promise of a certain power of the experience in the church can also attract wealthy and well-established Europeans. Sociologists say new data indicate a possible resurgence of interest in Christianity among young people, and Christian movements are aggressively pursuing them.
Secularism also affects the attitude to Israel
Europe's estrangement from religion has implications far beyond the pews of the church. "To me, the way in which religion is now rooted in the roots of the dispute between Europe and the US is particularly interesting," said Philip Jenkins, a British researcher and author of The Next Christendom, about changing patterns in Christianity. "I have seen this manifested especially in the last year or two in approaches to the Middle East issue."
According to Jenkins, "Americans still take biblical arguments seriously and therefore give the Zionist project credibility - unlike the Europeans." He pointed out that in the eyes of many Americans, the frequency with which US President George Bush mentioned religion and morality in his words about the war on terrorism is not surprising and does not cause discomfort. "But in Europe they think he is a religious fanatic," he said.
New "religions" such as consumerism and New Age have eroded faith in the Catholic Church
Many reasons have been put forward for the secularization of Europe - a process that took place gradually, over several decades, at the same time as the continent became richer and the level of education improved. One of the reasons is that there is a basic cynicism in Europe towards large institutions, embracing ideologies, and any kind of unreserved loyalty. This cynicism is expressed not only in emptying churches but also in the weakening of support for parties and trade unions. In addition to this, as part of the urbanization process, Europeans moved from small and quiet settlements where the church was at the center, to the big cities, where religion is sometimes lost in all the hustle and bustle. According to Reverend Enzo Bianchi, a Catholic theologian in Italy, in the capitals of Europe "more and more methods of morality and ethics are being offered today. There is Buddhism, Hinduism, New Age spirituality, consumerism. With all these competitors, it is more difficult for the church to sell itself."
But in the USA, for example (and many other countries can serve as an example here), such a situation did not cause such a great alienation from religion - on the contrary. Some experts say that in Europe the suspicion towards large churches may be greater because religious leaders have in the past held direct political power in their hands. Others say that the undisputed supremacy of churches that received the blessing of the state - such as the Lutherans in Scandinavia and the Anglicans in Britain - may have turned out to be a curse. "Monopoly is harmful to religion," said Massimo Interovini, director of the Center for the Study of New Religions in Turin. "In a free market people show more interest in the product. This applies to religion no less than to cars."
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