Abandonment of Faith in Europe

I recently returned from a trip to Europe where, among other stops, I spent some time in Brussels. I was struck by the city’s amazing beauty and wealth. Among the truly awe-inspiring buildings are the multitudes of churches that crowd the city’s streets, including the majestic Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. Like many Americans who visit Europe, I was also struck by the vast emptiness in most of the places of worship. The great void of humanity inside the churches I visited clearly supports the data showing that Europe is entering an era where the continent’s citizens have largely abandoned the faith of their fathers.

I considered a post-Christian Europe during my travels back to the United States. Two primary questions arose: 1) If Europe is, in fact, entering a post-Christian era (meaning a time where neither society nor government policy is grounded in the basic tenets of Christianity), what effect will that have on the national character of close American allies; and 2) If Europe surrenders its Christian heritage, what will replace it?

The answer to the first question, I believe, is largely dependent on which countries we are talking about. The United States has traditionally had close relations with the United Kingdom (the “special relationship” that exists between Churchill’s “English-speaking peoples”), Germany, Italy, and our newer allies in Eastern Europe such as Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Baltic states. American interests in the world are closely identified with those of democratic, traditionally Protestant Britain, a country with which America enjoys a shared cultural and religious heritage. What would a post-Christian Britain look like? British politics and society have been characterized for centuries by a unique evangelizing drive, responsible for the abolition of slavery in the 19th century (spearheaded by Britain’s evangelicals) and the “muscular Christian” movement that helped build an empire. It also counts for much of Britain’s famous moral certainty through two world wars and its stand with the United States in Iraq today. A Britain devoid of Christianity would likely be a weakened state, unsure of its place in the world and its willingness, or ability, to confront evil.

As for the Baltics, Poland, and the Czech Republic, these states have been more traditionally Roman Catholic. They still enjoy the religious resurgence that occurred after the fall of communism. Whether that upswing continues will be critical in determining their future national character. If the former Eastern bloc countries join Western Europe in jettisoning Christianity, the absence of the moral authority associated with the Church, as well as its ability to influence legislation on issues like gay marriage and abortion, may make these states more closely resemble nations like Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium, with their increasingly permissive politics. Spain, where the socialist government legalized gay marriage last year over the ferocious (but increasingly marginalized) opposition of the Catholic Church, is a particularly pertinent example.

As for the second question—what would a post-Christian Europe replace Christianity with? to me, it seems clear: Europe would be a cultural battleground between a weak-kneed, postmodern faith of multiculturalism and socialism on one hand and a virile Islam on the other. One need only remember the 2005 riots in France to vividly imagine the resulting conflict. More recently, a group of illegal Muslim immigrants took over the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succor in Belgium, with the bishop’s blessing. The goal of the church leadership, according to reports, was to pressure the Belgian government to allow the illegal immigrants to remain in the country. To repay the church’s hospitality, however, the immigrants raised the green flag of Islam on a church balcony, moved the altar, and covered the statue of Mary—essentially converting the church into a mosque.

This emphasis on individuality, and the inherent dignity accorded the individual by Christianity, is a powerful force—one that goes a long way toward uniting the Western democracies. This is only one example of how a value could be termed “Christian.”

Do these moves compromise Christian values? There are three basic tenets central to Christianity: love, sacrifice, and grace. The Christian believes that one aspect of God’s tremendous love for mankind was the sacrifice of sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins. That creates an opportunity for man to believe and, through grace, take advantage of the promise of forgiveness and eternal life. But the ultimate choice to accept that gift rests with the individual.

I was speaking about my trip the other day to a friend who recently traveled to Sweden. He echoed my thoughts about a post-Christian Europe and told me a story about the small village he visited where his great-great-grandfather had attended the local Lutheran church. My friend visited this church and was awed by the magnificent paintings on the ceiling of both Old and New Testament scenes. The tour guide informed him that those paintings were a source of great conflict in the church in the 19th century. At the time, there was a movement to make Lutheran churches increasingly simplistic by painting over internal decorations, such as the paintings on the ceiling. Church history records that my friend’s great-great-grandfather was instrumental in saving the paintings, but only after long and ardent ecclesial debate.

How far has Europe moved in jettisoning its Christian faith? Where its people once fought heated congregational battles over the theological acceptability of church art, they now allow their churches to become mosques. The continent will miss those churches. Right about now, it could use all the prayers it can get.

Author

  • Armstrong Williams

    Armstrong Williams (born 1959) is an American political commentator, author of a conservative newspaper column, and host of a daily radio show and a nationally syndicated TV program, called The Right Side with Armstrong Williams.

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