I'm not surprised Evangelical Christianity is on the rise

Telegraph Blogs ^ | December 14th, 2009 | Ed West

[Alex Murphy]

Life is full of ironies. Europe’s immigration revolution was caused by two major developments, and both had hugely ironic results. Europe’s Holocaust complex and sense of self-hatred following the Nazi horror led to a reactive obsession with racism as the ultimate evil, which led, ironically, to large-scale immigration from among the most anti-Semitic countries on earth, widespread “anti-Zionism” in Europe, and an increase in hate crimes against Jews across the continent.

The second factor was the sexual revolution, the decline of church attendance, the invention of the Pill, the 1967 Abortion Act and the increase in female employment, which caused the European birth rates to plummet in the early 1970s, leading to a need for foreign labour. Thirty years later burqas and hijabs were common on Britain’s streets.

But the spiritual vacuum caused by the decline of the Anglican, Catholic and Methodist churches in England is being filled by other forces. According to the Mail Evangelical Christianity is on the rise.

Some 4.5million of the UK’s foreign-born population claim to have a religious affiliation. Of these, around a quarter are Muslim while more than half are Christian – with Polish Catholics and African Pentecostals among the fastest-growing groups.

While traditional churchgoing is on the decline in the UK over the past decade, the latest immigrants mean Christianity is becoming more charismatic and fundamentalist.

‘Perhaps the most significant change has been the growth of Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity within migrant populations, particularly those from Africa and Latin America,’ the report found.

‘In Lewisham, there are 65 Pentecostal churches serving the Nigerian community, and others serving the Congolese, Ghanaian and Ivorian communities.’

Professor Mike Kenny of IPPR said: ‘The research shows that recent waves of inward migration have given a boost to some of the UK’s established faith communities

[Alex Murphy]

....it’s easy to see why Evangelical Christianity is rapidly spreading in the UK. The median age of this church was about 20; in most Catholic parishes in London you’re considered an energetic young go-getter if you’re under 75; the Evangelicals have many working-class members....The Evangelicals also aggressively court people of other faiths, including Muslims – while the Catholics would rather meet other religious leaders at (preferably tax-payer funded) interfaith meetings where they can spout platitudes about faith communities, as if religious identity is fixed, not a choice.... Doubt and scepticism are fine things but a religious community that does not believe in its own message will wither and die, and be replaced by others. I’m not remotely surprised Evangelical Christianity is on the march in England.

[Salvation]

I’m not surprised Cathocism is on the rise!

[RnMomof7]

I’m not surprised Cathocism is on the rise!

......"Many Catholic and Anglican churches are packed on Sunday mornings with young parents trying to get their kids into the best schools, and it shows – the air is thick with hypocrisy. In contrast the Evangelicals, whether anyone likes it or not, believe, and it shows......."

[BibChr]

Good luck with that, sister.

(c:

[RnMomof7]

Some things never change :)