Decline in European Christianity
Liberty University
The Decline of European Christianity
A Paper
Submitted to Professor J. Earls
By La Dawn Brooks
Church History 302 February 10, 2012
In this paper I will attempt to explain the decline in European Christianity and what attributed to itt. When did it actually start? What caused people to move away from Christianity? More importantly will we ever see an increase in these numbers again?
Europe has been known for its strong roots in Christianity. It was known for its missionaries who spread the word through out the world. They came to share the Good News to those who otherwise may not have heard it through evangelism. The churches in Europe have been steadily deteriorating through the centuries. Every country in Europe has not experienced such a massive decline, some are thriving while others are about to be non-existence. The decline in Christianity of course did not come about overnight it happened progressively down through the centuries. It was believed to have initially about during the time of Constantine. He did not allow it to be a separation between church and state and as ruler of the empire everyone was considered to be a
Christian. The leader of any country that is given ecclesiastical rule will do more harm to the church because if they can use their agenda to influence what the majority should be and this alone left no room for growth or change. Lutzer wrote in his book “Doctrines that Divide” “with
Constantine as power, Christianity was no longer a sect within empire but became synonymous with the empire. One now would be a Christian by simply being born into the empire, not necessarily by having personal faith Christ. [4] The state of the church in this time is like the church of Thyatira in (Rev.2:15-29). It was to the point that it was not about people’s growth spiritually, but about how
The Decline of European Christianity
A Paper
Submitted to Professor J. Earls
By La Dawn Brooks
Church History 302 February 10, 2012
In this paper I will attempt to explain the decline in European Christianity and what attributed to itt. When did it actually start? What caused people to move away from Christianity? More importantly will we ever see an increase in these numbers again?
Europe has been known for its strong roots in Christianity. It was known for its missionaries who spread the word through out the world. They came to share the Good News to those who otherwise may not have heard it through evangelism. The churches in Europe have been steadily deteriorating through the centuries. Every country in Europe has not experienced such a massive decline, some are thriving while others are about to be non-existence. The decline in Christianity of course did not come about overnight it happened progressively down through the centuries. It was believed to have initially about during the time of Constantine. He did not allow it to be a separation between church and state and as ruler of the empire everyone was considered to be a
Christian. The leader of any country that is given ecclesiastical rule will do more harm to the church because if they can use their agenda to influence what the majority should be and this alone left no room for growth or change. Lutzer wrote in his book “Doctrines that Divide” “with
Constantine as power, Christianity was no longer a sect within empire but became synonymous with the empire. One now would be a Christian by simply being born into the empire, not necessarily by having personal faith Christ. [4] The state of the church in this time is like the church of Thyatira in (Rev.2:15-29). It was to the point that it was not about people’s growth spiritually, but about how
Bibliography: [1] Bush L. Ross,; “What is Secularism” Southwestern Journal of Theology 26 No.2 (March 1, 1984): 5-14 ATLA Religion Database with ATLA serials (5) [2] Gonzalez, Justo L; The Story of Christianity; The Reformation to the Present Day;No.2 ,(New York Harper Collins, 2010) (p,174) [3] Hansen, Collin; “European Christianity” Failure to Thrive; Christian Today Library http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2003/jul18.html Accessed February 5, 2012 [4] Lutzer, Erwin; The Doctrine that Divide; Kregel publications; Grand Rapids, MI.; 1998 (p. 122) [5] McLeod and Ustorf; ”Decline of Christendom 1750-2000; Cambridge Univ. Press; Cambridge 2003 (134) [6] My Discipleship Journal; My Journey with God; Wednesday August 4, 2010 http://discipleshipjournal-buddyblogspot.com/2010.08/decline-of-european--chm accessed February 6, 2012 [7] Garron, James P.; “Is God Dead In Europe?”; (January 10, 2006) www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2006-01-08-faith-edit_x.htm accessed February 8, 2012 [8] Knox, Noelle; “Religion Takes a Backseat in Western Europe”; (August 10, 2005) www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-08-10-europe-religion-cover_x.htm Accessed February 6, 2012 [9]Holy Bible King James Version; Holman publishers;; Nashville, TN.;1996 [10] Euro-barometer ; www.esds.ac.uk/findingsData/snDescription.asp?sn=3293 accessed February 6, 2012