Religion in Contemporary Europe

In this book, some of Europe's foremost academic authorities on the social analysis of religion come together to examine its contemporary role in Europe. David Martin opens by tracing the shifting shape of European religion, focusing on the dynamics of the emerging situation in Central and Eastern Europe. Richard Roberts reviews the interaction of theology and politics in shaping European cultural identity, and Patrick Michel and Petya Nitzova present empirical analyses of the situation in Eastern Europe, in studies of the role of Roman Catholicism and Islam. Grace Davie, Régine Azria and Ahmed Andrews look at Western Europe, examining Britain and France, Jews and Europe and Muslim Women. Jean-Paul Williame outlines the attitudes of Protestantism to the European Community, and Liliane Voyé, and Danièle Hervieu-Léger consider the contribution of Catholicism in the development of subsidiarity and the task of reconstructing a Catholic identity. Jon Davies confronts the impact of war and Michael Watson details the political effects of the Green Movement on European Christianity. James Beckford concludes, drawing out the book's key themes.