The Threat of Religious Fundamentalism and the European Immigration Crisis

Abstract

A significant part of the crisis of our contemporary European societies can be attributed to misplaced and abused religious zeal in various forms of religious fundamentalism, both domestically grown as well as imported and shared by the immigrants to Europe from third-world countries. To deal with this complex phenomenon in the European environment, it is necessary to conceive the analysis of the presented issue into a sociological scheme based on three premises: (1) diagnosis of migration processes in the context of growing population movements in Europe, (2) identification of determinants and factors that cause these movements, as well as (3) a proposal to solve the current situation in the spirit of social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. Our paper is an attempt to interpret and compare the opinions of selected experts on this sensitive issue and, with the help of their opinions, to present some guiding ideas on the path to possible solutions to the current situation. We begin by describing the ideological deconstruction of the moral and cultural world as evidenced in the postmodern society, accompanied by processes of subjectivization and individualization, which acquired a societal context in Europe and North America in the 1960s. We then turn to exploring the context of religious change (from a theological-sociological perspective). The religiosity of postmodern man becomes a mixture of various correct, albeit often contradictory, discontinuous elements , involving a small dose of love for one's neighbor, often taking the form of friendly affection and showing emotions towards animals and the external environment, ideologically correct psychology as well as parapsychology, supplemented by esoteric, occult and astrological notions, while staying open to the possibility for Eastern philosophies and the sects. Islamic fundamentalism is seen as a reaction to this religious-cultural context that is perceived (by conservative Muslims and Christians alike) as hostile to traditional values, ideas about the world, and ideals. The context of contemporary Islam’s influence on the European religious landscape and culture is scrutinized in the next section of our paper. In Europe, the number of Christians will fall from 74.5% to 65.2% between 2010 and 2050, while the number of non-believers (nones) will increase from 18.8% to 23.3%, and the number of Muslims will also almost double from 5.9% to 10.2%. The growth of Muslims in Europe will be affected by both birth rates and migration. A part of our critical analysis points to the self-destructive tendencies of some European elites and cultural influencers/policy makers. After outlining some forecasts and developments, and offering initial critical views on the transpiring phenomena, we move on to delineating possible solutions to this situation. Due to the complexity of the problem, there is no ready-made, simple way to handle this situation. While immigrants have always played in important role in the European history, a growing number of political scientists talk in particular about the internal protection of Europe, that is, the inevitability of protecting its constitutive, fundamental values and rights. If Europe is not to lose its face and cultural/moral fiber, it is important to uphold its constitutive values. This will not be possible without an intentional struggle to reinvent its moral and spiritual heritage with every new generation without forfeiting the fundamentals upon which our culture and civilization has been built. The concluding section of our paper focuses on the Catholic Church's position on this issue and its recent proposals for resolving the migration crisis. The Church’s teaching that state officials and others who profess Christianity but reject refugees are hypocrites because Jesus would accept these people should be balanced by a critical call to be aware that our obligation to love and care for our neighbor extends not only to the immigrants and their families but also to the families and individuals of the European host countries. Our fear of Islamization of Christian Europe may be an indication that we Europeans have very little confidence in our own faith. Accordingly, we will not be able to preserve the Christian faith by living it secluded in our churches, but by presenting our Christian spirit - by accepting these refugees and by helping them in their concrete circumstances, and by engaging them (as well as our secular counterparts) publicly with due respect in an open-ended discourse of metanarratives.