The New York Times has taken a look at the fading away of Christianity across Europe.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas law against sodomy. In writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy suggested that it might be time for the U.S. to start adopting a more European view of what constitutes right and wrong.
That comment from the high court justice alarmed many Christians in America, given the state of Christianity in Europe. The Times story seems to confirm those fears, referring to the "withering" of the Christian faith there.
Writer Frank Bruni says Europe "seems more and more like a series of tourist-trod monuments to Christianity's past." For example, in France only one in 20 people bothers to go to church anymore; in the U.S., that ratio is one in three. The story quotes a pastor in northern France who says, "What's interesting isn't that there are fewer people in church, but that there are any at all."
In England, there are 25 million people who identify the Church of England as their denomination, but only slightly more than one million go to church every week.
And in Italy, although 85% of the population call themselves Roman Catholics, as few as 15% bother to attend church.
The Times quote David Cornick of the United Reformed Church in Britain, who says "the fact is that Europe is no longer Christian."
Bruni notes other indications of the diminishing influence of Christianity in Europe, such as the removal of crosses from the walls of public schools throughout Western Europe -- and the fact that many congregations have been forced to either shut down or combine operations, or make do with part-time or imported pastors.
But perhaps the most noteworthy development surrounds the impending European Union. Despite strong objections from Pope John Paul and Christian leaders around the continent, the draft of the proposed constitution for that political coalition omits any mention of Christianity or God as having any cultural influence in shaping Europe.
© 2003 Agape Press.
