The Death of Europe—Exaggerated?

Or inevitable? That compelling topic is treated at length in this May 2007 First Things piece by Fr. Richard John Neuhaus that reviews Philip Jenkins' new book, God’s Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe’s Religious Crisis (Oxford, 2007). Fr. Neuhaus introduces the topic by noting some of the various works that have, in just the past year or two, addressed the coming "death of Europe":

Over the years, FIRST THINGS has devoted substantial attention to the thesis that Europe is a dying continent. In the fine phrase of David Hart, Europe is dying of “metaphysical boredom.” We were among the first to give a sympathetic hearing to the work of Bat Y’eor, who argues that Europe is, probably irreversibly, on the way to becoming “Eurabia.” Catastrophically low birth rates, combined with a burgeoning Muslim population, led the sage Bernard Lewis to comment in 2004: “Current trends show that Europe will have a Muslim majority by the end of the twenty-first century at the latest. . . . Europe will be part of the Arab West—the Maghreb.”

Then there was George Weigel’s “Europe’s Problem—and Ours” (February 2004), later expanded into his influential book The Cube and the Cathedral, in which he asks us to envision the prospect of a “Europe in which the muezzin summons the faithful to prayer from the central loggia of St. Peter’s in Rome, while Notre Dame has been transformed into Hagia Sophia on the Seine—a great Christian church become an Islamic museum.” Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum writes in National Interest that Europe is faced with three choices, two of them very stark: peaceful integration of its Muslim population; a reversal of immigration policy, joined to a brutal campaign to expel Muslims; or an Islamic takeover of Europe. And then there is Mark Steyn in America Alone, who says the takeover is already unstoppable. Bat Y’eor, Bernard Lewis, George Weigel, Daniel Pipes, Mark Steyn—with varying levels of scholarship and restraint—suggest little or nothing for Europe’s comfort. Other authors could be added to the list. Lawrence Wright in Looming Tower, Melanie Phillips in Londonistan, Bruce Bawer in While Europe Slept, Ian Buruma in Murder in Amsterdam, and, or so it seems, a grim new book-length diagnosis of Europe’s terminal illness almost every other week.

Enter Philip Jenkins with God’s Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe’s Religious Crisis. This is the third volume of his ambitious trilogy examining religion in global perspective. There was The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, followed by The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South, which was his subject for our 2006 Erasmus Lecture published in our January 2007 issue. In God’s Continent, Jenkins seeks to counter what he views as the excessively dismal, even alarmist, analyses of the future of Europe.

It's an excellent review that ends with some careful but critical comments about some of Jenkins' analysis and analogies. I plan to read God’s Continent soon; of course, by the time I finish it, the prolific Jenkins will have likely published two or three more books!

Some related links:

• The Young, the Fertile, and the Ambitious | An April 2007 Catholic World Report interview with Philip Jenkins by Jeremy Lott.
• "I'm Not Optimistic, But I'm Hopeful" | A 2006 IgnatiusInsight.com interview with Father Richard John Neuhaus.
• Is Dialogue with Islam Possible? Some Reflections on Pope Benedict XVI's Address at the University of Regensburg | Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J. (September 2006)
• Benedict Takes the Next Step with Islam | Mark Brumley (September 2006)
• The Regensburg Lecture: Thinking Rightly About God and Man | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. (September 2006)

Book Links:

• The Cube and The Cathedral |  George Weigel
• America Alone: End of the World as We Know It | Mark Steyn
• Europe: Today and Tomorrow | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Comments

[Ed Peters]

Things never turned out quite as badly as we think they will. Or at least, they don't fall apart as quickly as we think they will.

In reading about the death of Europe, which I take for granted will happen, though not quite yet, I am reminded of the hyperbolic, even hysterical, denunciations of the devastating effects of divorce, which were already so bad that even a blindfolded blind man could see them all around...all penned in 1930, and 1940, and even 1950. Well, you know, maybe people read that stuff then, it apepared in mainline Catholic journals mind you, assumed the battle was lost and said, What the Hell?

[padraighh]

Dear America,

Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Sincerly, Europe