Sadly, however, within one generation of churches closing throughout Europe, empty pulpits have significantly contributed to the loss of fellowship and traditional continuity communities previously enjoyed. The rise of secularism, multiculturalism, and failed immigration policies created the perfect storm for crime in epic proportions to plague Europe.
History provides ample evidence of ways in which the local church provides continuity, encouragement and support of family life and societal freedoms. It also reveals what happens when churches close: societal structures erode, crime escalates, and freedoms evaporate.
Throughout Europe, tens of thousands of churches have been torn down, sold and repurposed due to an 80-90 percent drop in attendance. Non-attendance is indicative of negative population growth and sub-replacement fertility rates. And negative population growth is indicative of empty pulpits.
Heterosexual marriage and procreation cannot be forced. But both are the natural heartfelt response to hearing the Gospel. And if there is no one preaching, teaching, or encouraging the development of family and community life, both will cease to exist.
A Christian’s identity and purpose is directly linked to encouraging human flourishing.
This is why Christians throughout the world have founded schools, hospitals, orphanages, humanitarian and relief organizations, and offered numerous approaches to helping the elderly, poor, homeless, addicted, and destitute.
Swedish bishop Bjorn Vikstrom remarked that despite Sweden’s recent loss of nearly one million Protestant churchgoers, most Swedes “miss the sense of fellowship and continuity that traditions help create.” They want the church to baptize their children and bury their dead. Minister Sven Bjorkborg adds, “people support the church because it guards important national values and traditions and does good work,” like helping the poor, elderly, and homeless.
Sadly, however, within one generation of churches closing throughout Europe, empty pulpits have significantly contributed to the loss of fellowship and traditional continuity communities previously enjoyed. The rise of secularism, multiculturalism, and failed immigration policies created the perfect storm for crime in epic proportions to plague Europe.
Consider a brief survey of Scandinavian countries and their cousins.
In Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, Imams call for decapitation and/or jail for those who reject Islam, because as immigrants they reject European laws and values.
In Sweden, Muslim immigrants account for 5 percent of its population but commit 77 percent of its crime. Sweden’s “rape crisis” is a direct result of an influx of Muslim “asylum seekers.”
Amnesty International reports that Sweden has the highest number of rapes in Europe and the lowest conviction rate. According to Swedish Public Radio, in Stockholm alone, over 1,000 Swedish women reported that a Muslim immigrant raped them; 300 were under age 15. (One third of those living in Stockholm are immigrants; 24 percent are Muslim). These numbers represent only 25 percent of all rapes in Stockholm because officials claim the majority are unreported. Despite this, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention and the European Commissioner for Home Affairs “refuse to admit the assailants are Muslim.”
Norway is no stranger to secularism and closed Lutheran churches, although in some regions Catholicism is growing. Crime has also spiked to unprecedented levels so much so that Norway’s jails can’t sustain their increasing overcapacity. Norway’s response: deport criminal Muslims back to where they came from: Nigeria, Afghanistan, Romania, and Morocco.
