Introduction: European diversity and divergences

Abstract

From the days of the founding fathers of their discipline, secularization has been considered by social scientists as an important aspect of the process of modernization of societies. Nowadays, however, religion seems to regain ground in many parts of the world. Sociologically churches can be seen as organized historical forms of religious inspiration. Research has led to the conclusion that church participation is related to participation in civil society and that churchgoers are unusually active social capitalists. Whether and how churches fulfill these functions in contemporary European societies is a central question of this book. There appear to be clear differences between countries, between regions, and between religious groups. The developments in post-communist countries are of particular interest.