Church and Religion in Contemporary Europe

During the last decades, the academic special field of sociology of religion, as well as the general public, has witnessed lively debates on the "new" role and significance of religion in modern societies. Not only perceptions such as a "clash of civilizations" or a "return of religion", but also a renewed discussion on the relationship between religion and politics seem to stimulate the above mentioned questions. Meanwhile, a considerable quantity of empirical studies focused on the revitalization of religion or the prospects of a continuing secularization have been conducted. The topic of this publication deals with the results derived from a wide range of these studies, a large number of them focused on comparative analyses about the situation of churches and religion in Europe.

Perspectives and Research of Religiousness in Europe

Vorwort
Perspectives and Research of Religiousness in Europe

Autorentext
Gert Pickel, Prof. Dr., Professor of Sociology of Religion at the Institute for Practical Theology, University of Leipzig.
Olaf Müller, research associate at the Cluster of Excellence Religion and Politics in Pre-modern and Modern Cultures and at the Institute of Sociology at University of Münster.

Zusammenfassung
The third position of interest is the market approach. One issue that needs to be examined here is whether the degree of separation of church and state and religious pluralism affect the vitality of the religious field or not. Proponents of the market approach claim that the modern age is not necessarily diminishing religion but can even foster it, namely because it always falls short of its own (Finke/Stark 1988, 2006; Iannaccone 1991; Stark/Iannaccone 1994; Iannacone/Finke/Stark 1997; Warner 1993). According to them, it mainly stimulates religious productivity due to the economic principle of competition. The more pluralistic the religious field and the more market-oriented its organizational forms (and exactly this is assumed to happen in modern times), the more religious vitality is encouraged: under competitive conditions, the providers of religious services are forced to face the particular challenge of retaining their members and of attracting new members, responding to the needs of their clientele and offering efficient services. However, if one particular church holds a religious monopoly, its officials become indifferent and lazy; they lose their ability to be socially responsive. Much like in business, competition is good for religion, too. Besides, customers who are dissatisfied with a religious product in a pluralistic religious market can look for another religious product to better suit their needs, while their only alternative in a monopolistic religious structure is to turn away from religion altogether.

Inhalt
The Comparative View on Religion and Religiosity.- Why, at all, do we need Religion? Religion and Morality in Post-Communist Europe.- Religious Pluralism and Dimensions of Religiosity: Evidence from the Project Religious and Moral Pluralism (RAMP)..- Religiosity in Europe and in the Two Germanies: The Persistence of a Special Case as revealed by the European Social Survey.- Religion in Finland and Russia in a Comparative Perspective.- Religiosity in Central and Eastern Europe: Results from the PCE 2000 Survey in Comparison.- Secularization as a European Fate? Results from the Church and Religion in an Enlarged Europe Project 2006.- Religious Oddities: Explaining the Divergent Religious Markets of Poland and East Germany.- Church-State Relations and the Vitality of Religion in European Comparison.- European Exceptionalism: Lazy Churches, Pluralism, Adherence and the Case of the Dutch Religious Cartel.- Religion, Popular Piety, Patchwork Religion.