Conclusion: The Many Questions Ahead

Abstract

Although in face of the multiplicity of possible religious futures a clear and neat answer is impossible, one thing is sure: Those in Europe and the West who hoped, not least in the wake of 1968, that religion may lose its importance or simply disappear over time as a consequence to the growing wealth and increasing secularization of globalized societies, have been disappointed. Religion has not disappeared, either in authoritarian or open societies. On the contrary: It has followed the principle of the Lindy effect, i.e., the law, mentioned previously, that the longer something has existed, the longer it is going to stay for the future.