Introduction
The decline of Christianity in Europe did not happen spontaneously. It was a process which took place over many years. Further, it would be impossible to identify any one trigger for the decline. Numerous factors have combined to erode Christianity in Europe. Changing political parties, with varying tolerance towards Christianity, have been a major factor in the decline. In addition, new ideas about the ability and goodness of man to create a good society, without the need for God, served to undermine Christianity. Finally, the failure of the church to respond firmly to the crises of the modern world significantly accelerated its decline. While many of these factors have roots going back as far as the seventeenth century, many came to a head in the twentieth century.
Political Parties
In the nineteen hundreds, many European countries were being swept by changing political tides. This era saw the rise of socialism for many European countries. Some of these new governments discriminated against Christianity. Education and even some professions were closed to Christians. Some countries were harsher in their anti-Christian policies, and others merely neglected the church.1 The church was in a dangerous position; it was expected to comment on the political situation of Europe, but in grave danger if it did so.2
Furthermore, Christianity was generally seen as contrary to the ideology of these governments. At worse, Christianity was seen as a threat to Marxist ideals. At best, it was seen as silly superstition, an unnecessary crutch.3 While some Marxists respected Christianity and perhaps even learned from it, many felt that religion was primarily a tool of oppression which should be banished in the name of so...
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Kannampilly, Vijaykumar. "Marxism and Christianity." Social Scientist 3, no. 3 (October, 1974): 57-63. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3516372 (accessed February 1, 2012).
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In the book’s introduction, Walter Rauschenbusch has written “It follows that the relation between Christianity and social crisis is one of the most pressing questions for all intelligent men who realize the power of religion, and most of all the religious leaders of the people who give direction to the forces of religion” .
Religion of the protestant church was an important factor in the pre-war timeline culture. The Second great awakening, which occurred in the 19th century, greatly impacted American society. This new point of view in terms and matters of faith led northerners to cherish the theory of Christian perfection, a theory that in fact was applied to society in an attempt to eliminate social imperfection. On the other hand, southerners reacted by cherishing a faith of personal piety, which focused mainly on a reading of the Bible; however, it expressed very little concern in addressing society’s problems.1
Jain, Ajit, and Alexander Matejko, eds. A Critique of Marxist and Non-Marxist Thought. New York: Praeger, 1986.
Religious reformation in Germany, France, and England transformed religious liberty at the cost of Western Christian unity. Leading up to this point, there is a build up of resentment against Catholic taxation and obedience to officials of the foreign papacy in other countries of Europe. As a result of this religious strife, an increasing amount of European political warfare occurs for over 100 years. Furthermore, as faith is being questioned against the ruling monarchs, no longer is politics the only party involved in war. Subsequently, a sense of humanistic revival is found in the 15th century, laying down the path for reform among religious authority in Germany, France, and England in the 16th century.
McManners, John. "The Oxford History of Christianity." The Oxford History of Christianity. New York: New York Oxford Press, 2002. 28.
"Karl Marx on Religion: The Opiate of the Masses?" About.com Agnosticism / Atheism. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2014.
In conclusion, it is important to realize that it was not one single factor which was responsible for the spread of Christianity, all these figures came together to give the perfect platform for a new religion to develop, " Never before in the history of the race had conditions been so ready for the adoption of a new faith by the majority of the peoples of so large an area" (K.S Latourette).
Williams, O. F. Catholic Social Teaching: A Communitarian Democratic Capitalism for the New World Order. Journal of Business Ethics, 1993.Vol.12, no.12 p. 919-923.
Before the 16th century Protestant Reformation, Christianity it Europe was in a questionable and somewhat corrupt state. During the mid 15th century central and western Europe was set up in the form of a hierarchy, which was headed by the pope. At this period in time the pope claimed all spiritual authority over Christians, as well as political authority over all inhabitants of the Papal States. In addition to the claims the pope made, the church also owned close to one-fourth of the land in Europe that lead to a strong centralization of papal authority. Close to all of the Europeans at this time were Christian and would pay taxes directly to the church as a result of this ownership. European Christians were taught in their upbringing that without the guidance and rituals of the priests and the church, there would be no path for them to salvation. Despite the church attempting to teach morality among members, the clergy started to become greedy and full of corruption that fueled their desire for ...
Amongst the wars that have been fought in the history of mankind, The Second Crusade can be counted as one of the most disastrous. Completely contrary to the First Crusade, the Second Crusade was lead by two leaders with two un-cohesive agendas. This division of power and lack of military organization ultimately led to the massacre of thousands of Christian Crusaders and crushing losses along the way in the Crusaders' attempts to recapture the cities of Edessa and Damascus. The Second Crusade was the beginning of the fall of power of the Christian Crusaders for the first time in decades.
Bender, Frederic L. Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ed. 1988.
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.
The Story of Christianity is a very informative summation; a continuation of Volume 1 which covered the beginning of the church up to the Protestant Reformation, while Vol. 2 dealt with the Protestant Reformation up to more modern time period. This author delivers a more comprehensive and deeper look into the development of Christianity, which includes particular events which had transpired throughout the world; particularly how Christianity has expanded into Central and South America. Gonzalez opens up this book with the “Call for Reformation,” where he shares with his readers the need for reform; the papacy had started to decline and was corrupt, in addition to the Great Schism, which had further weakened the papacy (p.8). The author explains how the church was not the only issue but that the church’s teachings were off track as well, seeing that the people had deviated from...
With the idea of equality of all people no matter what race or previous financial situation, the concept of a god was in complete opposition of the Marxist philosophy. ?Marx?s idea of God as a projection of alienated human beings whereby God becomes in rich proportion as humanity becomes poor.?[2] Marx is criticizing society and their overall views of how religion should be treated. The society is letting God become the main focus of their lives, and since they are giving almost all their attention to God, they are becoming oblivious of the other members of the society and the relationships between each other.
" Political Theology 10.2 (2009): 287-303. Academic Search Complete. Web. The Web. The Web.