Description:
Although the origins of Christianity lie in the Near East, Europe and Christianity have an exceptional relationship, since most Europeans perceive Christianity as a Western - more precisely, as a European - religion. The region has seen rapid social change in the 21st century, set off by factors including energy crisis and environmental awareness, poverty and exclusion, falling birthrates and increased migration, changing attitudes to sexuality, gender and family life, and challenges to Europe's idea of itself and place in the global order. Amidst all this flux, this volume focuses on one particular issue: the rapidly changing profile of the Christian faith that has shaped the life of the European continent for a millennium and more.
At a time when patterns of Christian life and worship appear to be dying out, yet traces of new life are also appearing, this volume maps out the current reality of Christianity in Western and Northern Europe with all its questions and uncertainties.
Brief description: Annemarie C. Mayer is Professor of Dogmatic Theology and the History of Dogma at the Theological Faculty of Trier, Germany. From 2013 to 2021 she held the Chair of Theology, Religion and Contemporary Culture at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. From 2011 to 2013 she was the Catholic consultant to the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland.
Review Quotes: This volume offers comprehensive coverage of home-grown institutions and global movements in Europe. With the series' hallmark attention to good scholarship from those who have a personal and professional interest in their subjects, this is an invaluable reference book for students of theology, religious studies and sociology.--Emma Wild-Wood, University of Edinburgh