Young People and Religion and Spirituality in Europe: A Complex Picture

Abstract

The European context in religion has often been characterized as one of inexorable secularization, particularly among young people (Bruce 2002). However, as Davie and others have pointed out, religious belief remains high in Europe, even where communal religious practice does not. Davie has characterized this as “believing without belonging” (2002). Recently, Day has picked up on a concurrent trend she names “believing in belonging” (2013) which highlights the way some Europeans find a sense of belonging in an ethnic and/or regional religious identity without necessarily practicing communally. Meanwhile, the political context of a growing Europe increasingly embracing outlying nations (such as Romania or Turkey) and opening up the right to work across national boundaries, along with migration from Africa and Asia, has led to growing religious diversity even in nations with historically largely mono-religious identities (e.g., the Republic of Ireland or Sweden). In particular, inter-European migration has led to populations who regularly move back and forth for work and study bringing religious beliefs and practices with them but also returning with outside influences.

This chapter examines some of these phenomena as they apply to young people in Europe. The chapter paints a broad overview of religious trends across Europe and focuses on several case studies in order to give a sense of the complexity of youth and religion in Europe. The first considers the case of young Polish migrants to the UK, the second, the ways in which Christianity and alternative spiritualities influence young people whose families are historically Christian in Britain, and the third, the case of Germany and especially atheism, religious migration, and a possible emerging de-secularization among young people in East Germany.