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I s E urope an E xceptional C ase ? *
Author(s) -
Davie Grace
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
international review of mission
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.118
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1758-6631
pISSN - 0020-8582
DOI - 10.1111/j.1758-6631.2006.tb00562.x
Subject(s) - sociology , secularization , theology , media studies , religious studies , philosophy
past, more particularly the role of the historic churches in shaping European culture; an awareness that these churches still have a place at particular moments in the lives of modern Europeans, even though they are no longer able to discipline the beliefs and behavior of the great majority of the population; an observable change in the churchgoing constituencies of the continent, which operate increasingly on a model of choice, rather than a model of obligation or duty; and the arrival in Europe of groups of people from many different parts of the world, notably the global South, with very different religious aspirations from those seen in the host societies. Each of these factors will be taken in turn in order to answer the question set out in the title: is Europe an exceptional case in terms of its patterns of religious life? The answer leads in turn to more questions. If we conclude that Europe is indeed "exceptional," why is this so? Or, conversely, why not? And what can we say about the future? Will Europe continue within the trajectory set by its past or will it become more like the patterns found elsewhere? Or—it must be asked—will the rest of the world become more like Europe?