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neoconjames, this article from The Telegraph.
All I can do is point this people in the direction of my review of Norris and Ingelhart's excellent 2004 Sacred Versus Secular. What will they find? That, contrary to the most obvious applications of the supply-side theory of religion, not only is it the countries with the closest links between religion and state and the highest degree of denominational homogeneity--Ireland, Poland, Italy--which have the highest rates of religious practice, but that in post-Communist Europe there is a negative correlation between religious pluralism and religious practice. They would also discover that religious observance seems to be strongly linked to the insecurity, to the feared inability to fulfill as much of Maslow's hierarchy of needs as possible. Finally, they'd learn that Europe is not like the Roman Empire of stereotyped wide-eyed fame ("They all converted in three centuries!") and that, in fact, secularism is well-rooted in the different cultures of Europe. It's an evangelical Christianity with lacking the resonance of traditional Christian denominations that lacks any deep resonance among any of Europe's populations that's the outsider, and absent any sort of radical unforeseeable shift it's going to remain an outsider.
I feel a certain sympathy for these missionaries now that I didn't feel, back in November, for the desperate missionaries trying to convert the Czechs. Even so, they're doomed to near-complete failure. You read it here first!
neoconjames, this article from The Telegraph.New figures show that the modern missionary is eschewing countries such as Nigeria, Papua New Guinea or India in favour of that unlikely heart of darkness: France. The latest edition of Religious Trends, a compilation of Christian statistics published last week, shows that France overtook Kenya last year as the leading destination for British mission agencies.
In further evidence that Europe is increasingly seen as more spiritually needy than Africa or Asia, in third place is another country with strong Roman Catholic roots, Spain.
The situation has shifted markedly since 1991 when France languished behind Zimbabwe, Kenya, and South Africa and Spain was eighth in the list, the report by the Christian Research organisation shows. Despite its cathedrals, clergy and plethora of saints, France is now considered one of the world's most secular countries, partly because of its clear separation of Church and state.
Its geographical proximity and relative lack of Bible-based Protestant churches has made it increasingly alluring territory for British evangelicals. Moreover, large parts of the Third World are now so teeming with Christians that they are no longer seen as obvious destinations - and they are even exporting their own missionaries to the West.
"There has been a crisis of confidence in Christianity across Europe," said Martin Thompson of the Church Mission Society. "We are beginning to see Europe as a strategic priority." According to France Mission, there are more mediums and occult practitioners in France than there are registered doctors, and practising Muslims outnumber practising evangelical Christians by 12 to one.
All I can do is point this people in the direction of my review of Norris and Ingelhart's excellent 2004 Sacred Versus Secular. What will they find? That, contrary to the most obvious applications of the supply-side theory of religion, not only is it the countries with the closest links between religion and state and the highest degree of denominational homogeneity--Ireland, Poland, Italy--which have the highest rates of religious practice, but that in post-Communist Europe there is a negative correlation between religious pluralism and religious practice. They would also discover that religious observance seems to be strongly linked to the insecurity, to the feared inability to fulfill as much of Maslow's hierarchy of needs as possible. Finally, they'd learn that Europe is not like the Roman Empire of stereotyped wide-eyed fame ("They all converted in three centuries!") and that, in fact, secularism is well-rooted in the different cultures of Europe. It's an evangelical Christianity with lacking the resonance of traditional Christian denominations that lacks any deep resonance among any of Europe's populations that's the outsider, and absent any sort of radical unforeseeable shift it's going to remain an outsider.
I feel a certain sympathy for these missionaries now that I didn't feel, back in November, for the desperate missionaries trying to convert the Czechs. Even so, they're doomed to near-complete failure. You read it here first!
