Religion in Modern Europe: A Memory Mutates (European Societies) - Softcover

Insightful, creative, sensitive and original in its re-reading of old problems and its establishment of new possibilities, Religion in Modern Europe is a book of enormous significance (Journal of Beliefs & Values)

Offers a nuanced reflection on belief and practice ... Grace Davie has once again done us a service in showing how complex the full story is likely to be (British Journal of Sociology)

Here we have a wide, very readable and fascinating survey of the state of various religions and churches in Europe today, along with heretofore unexplored facets of the subject. Further, if futurology is the name of the game, this book may be of some cheer to those who do not accept the inevitable end of religion, especially Christianity, as a driving or guiding force in European society (International Journal of Education and Religion)

Religion in Modern Europe examines religion as a form of collective memory. This is a memory held in place by Europe's institutional churches, educational systems, and the mass media - all of which are themselves responding to rapid social and economic change. Europe's religious memory is approached in the following ways: as vicarious-a particularly European characteristic, as precarious-especially among young people, and as it is portrayed by the media. The memory may fragment, be disputed, and in extreme cases, disappear. Alternatives may emerge. The challenge for European societies is to affirm healthy mutations in religious memory and discourage others. The book also examines the increasing diversity of Europe's religious life.

European Societies Series
Series Editor: Colin Crouch
Very few of the existing sociological texts which compare different European societies on specific topics are accessible to a broad range of scholars and students. The European Societies series will help fill this gap in the literature, and attempt to answer questions such as: Is there really such a thing as a 'European model' of society? Do the economic and political integration processes of the European Union also imply convergence in more general aspects of social life, like family or religious behaviour? What do the societies of Western Europe have in common with those further to the east?

This series will cover the main social institutions, although not every author will cover the full range of European countries. As well as surveying existing knowledge in a way that will be useful to students, each book will also seek to contribute to our growing knowledge of what remains in many respects a sociologically unknown continent.