God's Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe's Religious Crisis

God's Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe's Religious Crisis
by Philip Jenkins

God's Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe's Religious Crisis
List Price: $28.00
Our Price: $15.77
You Save: $12.23 (44%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $10.58 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Philip Jenkins
Edition: Hardcover
Published: 2007-05-11
ISBN: 019531395X
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Book Reviews of God's Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe's Religious Crisis

Book Review: Christianity and Islam in Europe today
Summary: 5 Stars

This is the third in Jenkins' fascinating series looking at global Christianity and it follows "The Next Christendom" and "The New Faces Of Christianity" but this time focusing on Christianity in Europe and the perceived threat of Islam. Reading this book was an enjoyable experience and a welcome antidote to the paranoia often seen in the media and in churches, at least with regard to the future of Christianity. Jenkins shows, using statistics and with a look through the history of Christianity in Europe, that despite the increase in secularisation and the reduction in numbers of believers, Christianity is still overwhelmingly the majority religion in Europe and likely to stay that way. He wonders whether the Islam of those who make their homes in Europe might also become more secular and tolerant and that the Islam that we fear, that of the fundamentalists, might not be as prevalent as we fear.

The second half of the book looks more closely at Islam, discussing terrorism and the French riots, showing how some people are radicalised and giving a history of many of the terrorism events of the last twenty years. He also describes some of the changes taking place in European Islam, particularly with regard to women's rights. The assumption that Islam is a monolithic faith in which there is no variation is patently false and it was encouraging to read of many of the Muslim men and women who are working as a force for good, at least as we would see it. However the overall tone of this part of the book was less positive and left the reader with the sense that Islam is very different from the liberality of most Europeans and not that willing to accommodate in most cases.

Jenkins is always a worthwhile writer to read, with an ability to see the big picture as well as to focus on the details, and he is at home in European history and culture. His writing style is excellent, always interesting, well-reasoned and clearly researched, although I was irritated by his insistence in calling the London Underground the London Subway. This book is an important study for anyone living in Europe who wonders about the future of Christianity and how we are to get along with our Muslim neighbours and who perhaps wants to learn a little more about the Islam that is becoming established in Europe.

Summary of God's Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe's Religious Crisis

What does the future hold for European Christianity? Is the Christian church doomed to collapse under the weight of globalization, Western secularism, and a flood of Muslim immigrants? Is Europe, in short, on the brink of becoming "Eurabia"?
Though many pundits are loudly predicting just such a scenario, Philip Jenkins reveals the flaws in these arguments in God's Continent and offers a much more measured assessment of Europe's religious future. While frankly acknowledging current tensions, Jenkins shows, for instance, that the overheated rhetoric about a Muslim-dominated Europe is based on politically convenient myths: that Europe is being imperiled by floods of Muslim immigrants, exploding Muslim birth-rates, and the demise of European Christianity. He points out that by no means are Muslims the only new immigrants in Europe. Christians from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe are also pouring into the Western countries, and bringing with them a vibrant and enthusiastic faith that is helping to transform the face of European Christianity. Jenkins agrees that both Christianity and Islam face real difficulties in surviving within Europe's secular culture. But instead of fading away, both have adapted, and are adapting. Yes, the churches are in decline, but there are also clear indications that Christian loyalty and devotion survive, even as institutions crumble. Jenkins sees encouraging signs of continuing Christian devotion in Europe, especially in pilgrimages that attract millions--more in fact than in bygone "ages of faith."
The third book in an acclaimed trilogy that includes The Next Christendom and The New Faces of Christianity, God's Continent offers a realistic and historically grounded appraisal of the future of Christianity in a rapidly changing Europe.

Sociology Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in European Suicide?
The Force of Reason ImageThe Force of Reason
by Oriana Fallaci
Rizzoli; Published: 2006-03-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Rage and The Pride ImageThe Rage and The Pride
by Oriana Fallaci
Rizzoli International Publications; Published: 2002-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.96
Price in other shops: $14.95
The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations? ImageThe West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations?
by Tony Blankley
Regnery Publishing, Inc.; Published: 2006-09-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.81
Price in other shops: $16.95
Londonistan ImageLondonistan
by Melanie Phillips
Encounter Books; Published: 2007-06-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops: $17.95
The Last Days of Europe: Epitaph for an Old Continent ImageThe Last Days of Europe: Epitaph for an Old Continent
by Walter Laqueur
Thomas Dunne Books; Published: 2007-05-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.79
Price in other shops: $25.95
While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within ImageWhile Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within
by Bruce Bawer
Broadway; Published: 2007-09-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.75
Price in other shops: $14.00
Menace in Europe: Why the Continent's Crisis Is America's, Too ImageMenace in Europe: Why the Continent's Crisis Is America's, Too
by Claire Berlinski
Crown Forum; Published: 2006-02-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.15
Price in other shops: $25.95
Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis ImageEurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis
by Bat Ye'Or, Bat Yeor
Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; Published: 2005-01-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.97
Price in other shops: $23.95
Decline and Fall: Europe's Slow Motion Suicide ImageDecline and Fall: Europe's Slow Motion Suicide
by Bruce S. Thornton
Encounter Books; Published: 2007-11-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops: $21.95
The Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America, and Politics Without God ImageThe Cube and the Cathedral: Europe, America, and Politics Without God
by George Weigel
Basic Books; Published: 2006-02-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.44
Price in other shops: $14.00
Similar Books and other products
Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony ImageJesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony
by Richard Bauckham
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Published: 2006-12-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.64
Price in other shops: $32.00
Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church ImageSurprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church
by N. T. Wright
HarperOne; Published: 2008-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.67
Price in other shops: $24.95
unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity... and Why It Matters ImageunChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity... and Why It Matters
by David Kinnaman, Gabe Lyons
Baker Books; Published: 2007-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.19
Price in other shops: $17.99
Europe: Today and Tomorrow ImageEurope: Today and Tomorrow
by Pope Benedict XVI
Ignatius Press; Published: 2007-03-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.95
Price in other shops: $14.95
The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative ImageThe Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative
by Christopher J. H. Wright
IVP Academic; Published: 2006-11-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.89
Price in other shops: $38.00
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism ImageThe Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
by Timothy Keller
Dutton Adult; Published: 2008-02-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.38
Price in other shops: $24.95
Disciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity (Studies in World Christianity) ImageDisciples of All Nations: Pillars of World Christianity (Studies in World Christianity)
by Lamin O. Sanneh
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2007-11-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.93
Price in other shops: $19.95
A Secular Age ImageA Secular Age
by Charles Taylor
Belknap Press; Published: 2007-09-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.50
Price in other shops: $39.95
The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity ImageThe Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity
by Philip Jenkins
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2007-03-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops: $14.95
The New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South ImageThe New Faces of Christianity: Believing the Bible in the Global South
by Philip Jenkins
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2006-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.99
Price in other shops: $26.00
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories