By Tomas Brunegård
The influx of refugees and migrants to Europe in the last few years is probably the greatest challenge for Europe after the break up of the Iron Curtain. It may also be the greatest opportunity for Christianity and the Christian church to regain relevance in the modern society of Europe.
The world needs Europe and the European nation states need a well-functioning European collaboration. Why the world needs Europe is not necessarily an economic issue even if the combined wealth of the European nations is the greatest in the world. No, it is much more an issue of what a Chinese businessman told me in philosophizing over the various parts of the world: “What would we be without Aristotle and Plato and could a world survive without the matureness of Europe?” An American told me, somewhat as a joke but with the sincerest intention: “We have cash but no culture; you Europeans have no cash but lots of culture.” These quotes point in the direction of a culturerich European environment that has fostered a pluralistic worldview. It all relates to one of the biggest questions for mankind today: How on earth can we agree to disagree, and still live together?
Europe is the neighbor of Africa, which is the continent that will experience the biggest growth in population over the next 50 years. As the world population grows from today’s 7 billion to 11 billion (according to UN statistics), three-fourths of the growth will come in Africa. The other billion of growth will come in Asia. Europe and the Americas will stay on the same level as they are currently. Africa will stick out as a young continent compared to the other continents. Someone described Europe and Africa as “A house for senior citizens next to a Youth Center.”
New immigration regulations will not stop the challenges in the future. They will continue to grow. Due to geography, Europe cannot go the way of possible isolationism as is debated in the USA today. The challenges will remain because people will make their way across the borders. Populism and solidarity, combined with economic pressures and possibilities, will cause friction to increase if they are not handled in a constructive way. Again, this is a great opportunity for the Christian faith and church.
The church in Europe missed the chance to take part in the growth of the modern society. Conservatism, incompetence, and a desire for power made the church lose her relevance for ordinary people. The welfare state, which is descriptive of the Western European countries, was to a large extent built on modernism and secularism. In contrast, the USA, for example, was to a much larger extent built on modernism and faith: In God We Trust. In the Scandinavian countries modernism and secularism were pushed to an extreme level, thus attendance at any religious worship place is now among the lowest on Earth. Maybe the tide is shifting, and maybe post-modernism is transforming into something we can call post-secularism. The reason for this is the chaos post-modernism has created in the destruction of norms and values, while people who are moving into an aging Europe are mainly younger people coming from parts of the world where values and beliefs are firm and taken for granted.
Christianity has struggled with its relevance, especially in Western Europe. Yet in Sweden, which is among the most individualistic and most secular countries on Earth, over the last few years the church has regained unexpected relevance for the first time in decades. This has come because of its work among migrants as well as the fact that the church is one of the few natural places for people to mix and meet across nationalities and race. When patterns of migration are mapped from southern to northern Europe, it is obvious that churches all along the road have “stepped up” to provide food and shelter, especially during the refugee crisis of Syrians in 2015. For Sweden, which opened its borders more than its Scandinavian neighbors, this has been a real-time experiment. It is something for the rest of the world to watch. Today Sweden’s borders are much more closed and in line with the politics of most of the EU countries. But inside the country much is happening. No doubt the tension is great due to this influx of people. It has caused populist right wing parties to grow; security and safety are concerns. On the other hand, the everyday visibility of the church has increased. I would argue that one has to go back to the 1930s to find a similar situation. In many cases stagnation of Christianity has stopped, old churches are growing again, and new churches are being planted. This might be only the first sign of what is happening. Perhaps the postmodern soil is the most fertile ground for a postsecular worldview, which can become the place where “God’s spirit will be poured out on all people.” Maybe the church first needs to lose its own power, then when Christians start to care for those who are the least of brothers and sisterswhether Christians, Muslims, Jews, or of other faiths—this will be the soil where the Kingdom shows its real power.
One might argue that this is the soil for a rebirth of democracy. This would be redefining a relevant modern democracy, which unifies and revitalizes the democratic society, its institutions, and everything necessary to keep, maintain, and secure the freedoms for which the founding fathers fought. Professor Robert Putnam has discussed this in two of his books, Bowling Alone and American Grace, how important churches where in creating the democracy of today. In my country, Sweden, the combination of the temperance movement, the labor movement, and the revivalist movement caused what is now called the popular movement, which was the reason Sweden grew from one of the poorest nations on Earth to one of the richest.
Secularism is the root of individualization, which seems to cause fragmentation and polarization. Perhaps post-modernism and secularism are a real threat to democracy and freedom because they dissolve the ecosystem of a functioning society. Is it possible that hope lies with the post-secular development where people, again, start to meet and mix in churches, at potlucks, in secondhand stores, at choirs, and so forth and thus learn to how to live together despite different views and opinions?
I see this happening but it is still hidden for most of the people who dominate in politics, media, and other positions of power. It goes against the “zeitgeist,” which means it is still in the blind spot. It is, however, perhaps the way to regain a constructive dialogue and a decent tone in public debate and on social media. It can be the way to work for the common good.
Tomas Brunegård