GOD S CONTINENT: CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM, AND EUROPE S RELIGIOUS CRISIS. A Book Review. Presented to. Dr. Al James

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1 GOD S CONTINENT: CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM, AND EUROPE S RELIGIOUS CRISIS A Book Review Presented to Dr. Al James in partial fulfillment of the requirements for MIS6520A Anthropology & Cross-Cultural Understanding David A. McWhite, Jr. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary April 19, 2012

2 BOOK REVIEW GRADE SHEET Possible Points Points Earned Title Page 10 Grade Sheet 05 Bibliographical Entry 05 Declarative sentence 10 Summary of Book 30 Inclusion of appropriate material Grasp of concepts Clarity of description Organization Personal Reaction, Application, & Evaluation 30 Grasp of concepts Critical analysis of concepts Clarity of description Application for ministry Evaluation Form/Style 10 Spelling Grammar Clarity Writing style TOTAL 100 Subtraction for not reading the entire book Subtraction for late paper FINAL GRADE

3 Jenkins, Philip. God s Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe s Religious Crisis. New York: Oxford Press, I read 100% of the assigned book for the book review. Summary Jenkins begins his book by discussing the current religious environment of Europe. Europe has experienced a tremendous de-christinization as of late, and this is due in part to the growth of Islam. Jenkins posits, however, that the state of Christianity is not as grim as some suggest. Islam will face the same pressures in Europe that Christianity has faced, and it is just as likely that Islam will be Europeanized as it is that Europe will be Islamicized. Figures suggest a higher devotion to Islam than is probably true in Europe. In chapter 2, Jenkins discusses the state of the church. Churches are no longer the center of European society. The church, particularly the Roman Catholic Church, is being affected by decreasing numbers of clergy, church members, and seminary students. Because the leadership of the European church is quite aged (the average clergyman is past retirement age) and is male dominated, many view the church as irrelevant, especially in the midst of a growing feminist culture. There is a sharp division between church and state, especially over issues like gay marriage, contraception, and abortion. There does, however, seem to be at least a strong sympathy toward Christianity in Europe, as Jenkins discusses in chapter 3. There are millions who still show interest in spiritual ventures, such as pilgrimages and relic veneration. The pruning of Christianity taking place in Europe may actually make Christianity stronger, and it is stronger already than the media suggest. In chapters 4 and 5, Jenkins discusses the Christian and Muslim populations in Europe. Both populations are experiencing growth due to immigration. Europe is home to many foreign missionaries, and much of the Roman Catholic leadership is Asian or African. Many diasporic 1

4 2 peoples live in Europe, although much of the white population is less-than enthusiastic about their presence. The growth of the Muslim population has gotten the most attention in Europe. The majority of Muslims live in major cities and metropolitan areas. Immigration reinforces Muslim strength, but it will be hard for Muslims to resist the temptation to accommodate to European culture and become more tolerant. In chapters 6 and 7, Jenkins discusses further the characteristics of European Islam. Because Europe maintains greater religious freedoms than do predominantly Muslim countries, Islam has been able to grow while rejecting some of the more radical elements of Islam. This growing moderation has taken place despite pressure from Muslim countries, which fund many Muslim ventures and furnish imams for mosques. Europe's Muslims are disproportionately young and undereducated, which leads to higher rates of failed school programs and crime in Muslim communities, although this has as much to do with race as with religion. Chapters 8 and 9 focus on the conflicts between radical and moderate Muslims. The social freedoms Muslims experience in Europe have led to strong divisions over issues like women's rights, arranged marriages, female circumcision, divorce, and homosexuality. Those trying to reform Muslim views and practices on these and other issues are strongly opposed by extremists. Many of the extremist terrorist attacks are carried out by converts, and many of those converts are young men who have abandoned their parents' religion out of spite. Muslims have found a home in Europe and, for the most part, Europe has done little to control terrorist activity. The final three chapters focus on the effect that Islam has had and will have on Europe and European Christianity. Europeans hold values that differ greatly from Muslim values, and these values will continue to clash. (A good example is the censorship in the European arts that has resulted from Muslim pressure.) European Christianity is likely to change as well as it

5 3 continues to interact with Islam. Though the two faiths face the same oppression and have similar ideologies, conflict likely will characterize their interaction. However, this conflict brought about by the growth of Islam may result in the growth of Christianity. As European Christianity faces its potential demise, it may react with a great Christian revival. Reaction One issue that Jenkins discusses that will have implications for missionaries is the reality that a large Muslim population does not necessarily indicate a high level of adherence (17-19). As is true of the high percentage of Americans who claim Christianity, the number of Muslims reported in Europe is made up of a considerable portion that is at best nominally Muslim. As Jenkins mentions at several points in the book, any person who is of Middle Eastern decent or who was born into a Muslim family is counted as a Muslim within the European population. However, many of those Muslims are disenchanted by Islam and may do little in the way of actively practicing the Muslim faith. The growing number of Muslims reported in Europe may, therefore, be misleading to missionaries in that it suggests a religious adherence that may not necessarily characterize much of the Muslim population. For the Christian missionary, this presence of nominal Islam (and often an outright rejection of it) among Muslim Europeans provides an excellent opportunity to present the gospel to an open audience. Many individuals who were brought up in Islam have been turned off by the religion's chauvinistic, aggressive, and oftentimes violent character and are open to conversations about other faiths. This is especially true of those who have immigrated to Europe from other countries and are now experiencing a level of freedom that was not present in their home countries. It is vitally important that Christian missionaries reach those whose newly-found freedom has left them in a state of spiritual limbo, as there are many other faiths present in Europe just as eager to acquire new followers.

6 4 Another issue Jenkins brings up that may benefit missionaries is the general strengthening of faith that takes place when religious adherence falls and congregations shrink (69-70). To suggest that faith grows when numbers drop may seem counter-intuitive, but when churches are left with only a faithful remnant, the faith of the congregation often will grow in ways it cannot when its numbers includes nominal members. The reduction of church congregations to a faithful few provides an opportunity for missionaries not only to invest in those who are serious about the faith, but also to speak openly about elements of Christianity that nominal believers often find disconcerting (e.g., intolerance for homosexuality, sexual purity, teachings against divorce, etc., all of which are receiving considerable pushback from European society). Obviously, the preference for missionaries and for Christians at large is to see a large Christian population that is faithful and sincere, and hopefully believers will continue to prayer and work toward this end, but it has been the case historically that Christianity tends to become more shallow as it grows in popularity. So while those in Europe who are not dedicated to Christianity have left the faith altogether, missionaries can take advantage of their time with the faithful and, hopefully, empower and encourage them to go out and reach those who have turned away. A third issue Jenkins discusses, which is related to the one above, is that an upsurge in Islam in Europe may actually bolster the faith of European believers (287-89). The influx of Muslims and increased interest in Islam will force Christians, and likely Europeans as a whole, to look at their past and their present and think hard about their Christian heritage. Europe is long-known as the epicenter from which modern Christianity took much of its shape, and now, with a growing Muslim population that is dedicated to Islam and is pushing for an Islamsensitive (and ultimately Islam-ruled) society, Europeans must ask if they are willing to forfeit a,

7 5 albeit waning, Christian society. For missionaries, this introspection will hopefully lead to opportunities to inform non-believers about Christianity and encourage believers toward a deeper faith. While many in Europe may not be very interested in Christianity, based on Jenkins findings, many of them are even less interested in seeing Europe become an epicenter for Islam. While this does not really constitute a seeker crowd, it does offer believers an opportunity to demonstrate the truthfulness of Christianity and to show how Christianity ultimately will benefit European society. While societal bettering is not the primary goal of Christianity, it may very well be the element of Christianity that draws Europeans to consider giving it the opportunity to once again flourish. Conclusion My only criticism of this book is that it seems a bit disjointed at times. In chapter 7, for instance, Jenkins has a section called "Understanding Violence" on the part of race versus religion in European violence, followed by a section called "Gangsters" on the influence of music, and then two more sections on race and religion. This pattern of jumping back and forth between topics was present at several points in the book, although this was not true of all of it. One of the reviews on the back of the book describes God's Continent as "A novel-like book that's impossible to put down." I cannot say I agree with that statement, both because of the book s data-driven content and its tendency to be a bit choppy (at times). Overall, however, it was an incredibly helpful read. I especially appreciated sections that explained elements of Islam that most readers (including myself) were ignorant of, such as those on head and body coverings (196ff) and on the different Islamic terrorist groups (see ch. 9). As is true of his other writings, Jenkins God s Continent provides a storehouse of useful and pertinent information (see his nearly forty-page Notes section). Jenkins work is thorough

8 6 and covers a wide array of topics related to Europe s past and current religious environment. And while he is honest about the potential threats of Islam and the negative side effects that an upsurge in, at least radical, Islam might have in Europe, he also successfully supports his argument that 1) the religious situation in Europe is not as grim as some have suggested, and 2) that European Muslims do not necessarily hold to many of the attitudes and practices of the more orthodox Muslims in Islamic countries. While he does not attempt to sugar coat the long-term effects that Islam will have on Europe, he also does not present Europe as a hopelessly secular continent with no sincere Christian presence. This presentation of Europe s religious state should serve as a bit of a relief to Christians who feel Europe is beyond hope and will be overtaken by Islam in a decade or two, but is should also serve as an impetus to believers to reach Europe s growing secular population with the gospel. Islam is going to continue to grow in Europe, from immigration, births, and converts, and believers must act with as much or greater as Muslims to see European peoples won to their faith. If believers fail to act, it is possible that some of the most undesirable predictions about Europe s religious landscape may come true.