Introduction
Christianity has undergone a serious decline in Europe over the last years. Europe had been the home to apostles such as Calvin, Luther, Aquinas, and Barth among many other apostles.
Christianity has been the largest religion in Europe in about two millenniums ago as many missionaries from the continent ventured to other regions of the world to convert those who had not known or accepted the word of God. However, today, the church is experiencing turmoil which threatens its stability and further weakens it. Most of Europe is at present post-Christian and seriously needs evangelization.
There are a number of reasons which have led to the decline of Christianity. In this article, I argue that the decline of Christianity in Europe is as a result of the increase of religious radicalism, tolerance, as well as, secular humanism which are the consequence of religious, social along with political revolutions all over the continent.
Religious Tolerance
The decline of Christianity began in the Reformation period. The consequent wars of religion led to the fragmentation of the Christianity into several sects. This was a revolution against single orthodoxy that had characterized Christianity in Europe. Most church leaders and governors had not accepted diversity in Christian views.
The revolution led to the toleration of diverse beliefs as well as practices which were inherently against the traditional principles and views of Christianity. This began towards the end of the 16th Century when many countries in Europe such as Germany and France began to grant Catholics and Protestants (Lutherans) equal rights. As Europe entered late 18th and the 19th Centuries, religious as well as non-religious toleration began to become the norm. Laws guiding toleration France, Germany, Britain, Austria, and Ireland were enacted in the late 18th century. Sweden, Spain, and Denmark later followed in the 19th century. In turn, this resulted in toleration of new forms of Christianity during this period.
In addition, England did away with censorship in 1694, and this promoted the increase in number of books which advocated Deism. Beginning the 18th century, this had become the trend among the intellectual elite of the UK, which later spread across Europe, particularly in Germany and France. This led to a significant decline in Christianity in Germany and France in the mid 18th century as rationalism as well as intellectual thinking was becoming tightly entrenched among elites.
Secular Humanism
More changes were witnessed in the 19th century as people began to explore various fields in the natural sciences as a way a inquiring the truth. Many people in Europe started to believe that science is greater than religious traditions.
Europe therefore entered the 20th century with the ideas of toleration as well as naturalism, which forced it into the philosophy of secular humanism, which advocates moral relativism while excluding the existence of God. As a result, this led to confusion as to what constituted sacred as well as moral practices as is presented in Christianity.
Secular humanism in Europe increased in the 20th century when the continent was plagued by a progression of radical socialist regimes which greatly affected Christianity.
These socialist regimes devalued the life of human beings, believed in race superiority, as well as, anti-religion bias. Such people and regimes led to the two World Wars which were experienced in Europe, causing the death of many Christians across the continent. Later on, radical social movements led to adoption of practices and laws which further affected Christianity.
Most notable of the radical changes was the sexual revolution which began in the 1960s. Governments across Europe started to enact legislations which were overtly non-Christian. In Britain for example, laws on abortion, homosexual acts, obscenity, provisions for contraceptives to be used by unmarried couples, divorce, as well as, elimination of theatre censorship were enacted in the 1960s.
Although some Christians across Europe objected to these, the ideology of toleration ensured permanent liberalization of the non-Christian laws since most of the supporters of these laws were secularist. European Christians had prepared to accept that that the society was increasingly becoming pluralist, and therefore toleration was indispensable. This compromised the Christian traditions.
Religious Radicalism
Theological liberals and their conservative brethren were increasingly involved in ideological disputes. The 20th century was a period of anxiety as well as great flux in Europe. During this time, dominance of Christianity in Europe was experiencing serious challenges from fronts of biblical criticisms, as well as, evolution. Studies have shown that by 1967, two-thirds of Germans still accepted the Word of God as true, however, but by 1992, the number had depreciated to half the population. Besides, during the same period, the percentage of those who attended church almost every Sunday declined from 25% to 10%. These statistics were almost similar across European nations.
One such reason as to why this happened was that some churches and individuals had devalued the role of the Bible in the Church and in spreading the gospel. Such practices brought about unhealthy practices which up to date do not effectively help accomplish the role of the church by reaching the neighboring region with the gospel.
The growth of the church and Christianity greatly relies on understanding the truth which comes from God’s word as is discussed in the Bible. The word of God found in the Bible is the basis for understanding and accepting religion, morality, justice, as well as ethics.
Criticisms which target the destruction of the supernatural nature of the Bible began during the Romantic era. Since then, the Bible has become the subjective evolution of Christianity in people’s consciousness. However, criticisms directed towards the nature of the Bible have included destructive perspectives of liberalism.
Thus, further studies of the Bible have been characterized by radical criticism as people try to understand the ethical teaching presented in the scripture. This has undermined the confidence and the faith of many Christians in the divine revelation provided in the Bible. For example, Hermann Reismarus rejected the possibility of biblical miracles having happened as recorded in the Bible. He also claimed that those who wrote the New Testament were not sincere.
Again, Gotthold Lessing, David Strauss among others argued the teachings in the Bible only served as a guide during the early periods of religious development, and therefore the present morals and ethics should be guided by reason and duty. This led to many people questioning the integrity of the New Testament and even that of the deity of Christ.
Western Culture
The Western culture, in Europe, has had an immense influence in religion and the laws of the religion. People have lost confidence in religion (Christianity) and this has created a radical separation between these two. Christianity has evolved to accept relativism in law so that it is no longer strict on the rules for behavior of Christians. Religion provides the foundation on which law/rules and morality should be based; however, the Western culture has adopted a kind of modernized culture, which is a break away from the ideals of Christianity. This means that the possibility of getting the true meaning of Christianity and the gospel truth has considerably reduced in Europe. Social organizations and most churches in Europe have legitimized moral principles that are not religiously based. This has led to an unstable, as well as, ever-changing base where the church in Europe has no authoritative system of morals including laws to guide its members.
Conclusion
The decline of Christianity has gone through various modifications and processes which initially began with religious toleration of different Christian practices. This comprised non-traditional Christian beliefs which eventually forced the continent and churches into a secular society. Political and social modernization as well as intellectual advancement has led Christians and European countries past need for faith in true Christianity.
Instead, they have adopted a more enlightened, as well as, secular mode of life. Acceptance and adoption of non-traditional Christian practices have been the major influence on the Christian life among Europeans. Christian faith has become a way into secular success, and those who had desired to become true champions of the church have been dogged by the changes in Christian traditions.
Reference List
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