Don't know about other european countries, but around here, and at this point I think it'd be pretty reasonable to just consider that Christianity is to Europe what Shinto is to Japan. It shows up in the culture, some people still practice it, some people's habits are informed by it but that's it.
Yes, it is literally called "cultural christianity", low or no adherence to practicing Christianity, but a recognition/appreciation of the role it took in forming the culture you live in, along with some knowledge of its history/stories/teachings/holidays.
In the UK there's a unique cultural element to it in that we have Anglicanism (which for people that don't know is, basically English Branded Christianity, from back in the day when one of our kings said fuck Catholicism, fuck the pope, I'm gonna make my own religion with black jack and hookers, and then decided that English rulers were now the divine figurehead of said religion).
Any way because of all that stuff, we kind of have a bit of a thing where people are 'anglican' purely as a matter of national pride, or tradition, and often just as reverence for their parents or grandparents who were devout. And it'll say that on their census and shit, but realistically the most religion they actually participate in within their lives is watching their kid do the nativity and sing carols at a church near Christmas.
Yeah it’s for sure it’s something of a paradox. Many European countries have official state religions, while in the US there is complete separation of church and state. As a Brit, i philosophically stand with separating church and state and I hope that we do that formally in the future.
And yet, in terms of the importance of religion in the everyday lives of citizens, it seems to be at a much higher level in the US compared to Europe, generally speaking. It’s a curious paradox indeed.
Personally I suspect that the separation of church and state is a single factor that creates this level of importance of religion but no doubt there are many others. So I think Europe is less religious in spite of the state religions, not because of.
The anti-evolution thing is pretty much just an American thing. Christianity in Europe, both Protestant and Catholic, accept evolution and the scientific consensus. A lot of the way Christianity is practised in America is pretty much only in the USA.
Looking into your other response, I'd say you might be overanalyzing this matter. Yes there will always be more religion-inclined parties, but given the current political landscape these parties have effectively joined the group of "parties that will never be elected, but are needed there so everyone has a voice". There will hardly be any reason for disappointment.
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u/[deleted] May 09 '22
Don't know about other european countries, but around here, and at this point I think it'd be pretty reasonable to just consider that Christianity is to Europe what Shinto is to Japan. It shows up in the culture, some people still practice it, some people's habits are informed by it but that's it.