Transformations in the Religious and Moral Landscape in Europe?

Abstract

In this chapter, we investigate the claim of secularisation theory that the impact of religion on end-of-life moral issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and suicide in various regions in Europe has declined. We distinguish between five regions in Europe based on important historical and contemporary religious and secular characteristics: Northern, Western, Southern, and Eastern European countries and ex-Soviet countries. We further elaborate on the idea that religious beliefs and religious practices are separate aspects of religion. The analyses yield evidence for the relationship between both religious beliefs and end-of-life morality on the one hand and religious practices and end-of-life morality on the other. As expected, religious beliefs appear less strongly associated with this kind of morality than does religious attendance. Those who frequently attend religious services are clearly stricter than individuals who attend religious services less frequently or never. However, it must be acknowledged that the impact of religion on morality is not as strong as might have been anticipated; nor do the analyses provide strong evidence of declining levels in the impact of religion on morality. Moreover, we observe very heterogeneous patterns of change in both secularisation and end-of-life morality between regions and, within regions, between countries.