Those theses have been regularly tested ever since the book came out. The results of those studies are rather inconsistent and vary greatly.

If one takes the perspective of a historian, one argument could be that European religious traditions have shaped both the continent’s internal and external physical borders, philosophical debates, ethical contentions and historical memory as well as the imagination of entire peoples. For example, the dynamics of the longitudinal changes in the contemporary religious landscape in Europe have been a complex process with multiple trajectories. This suggests that there is a continued need to advance our understanding of both the significance and multi-layered nature of, not only current political discourses, but also the underlying social and cultural processes of meaning-making among the various populations of Europe. This certainly includes the trajectories within moral and ethical debates across the continent, both religious and secular. At the same time, such debates have a direct impact on a variety of religious communities. It can be argued that part of the impact that these public debates have is the continuous shaping and reshaping of religious communities’ conception of their respective social, cultural and even political roles in their societies. Such a dynamic is further shaped by the communities’ experiences and interactions with other private and public stakeholders as well as the public, including the state authorities.

The Intensive programme of 2021 (IP 2021) is centred on exploring a range of historical and contemporary transformations and trajectories of moral and ethical debates, religious communities, religious commitments, including secularity in Europe today.

Casanova’s insightful overview and analysis of the role of religion and religiosity (and lack thereof) in Europe from the 1990s is therefore a helpful starting point in exploring the complex relationships and processes of collective deliberations among religious communities as a part of a variety of European public spheres. The IP 2021 approaches this topic with an ambition to develop a wide range of guided and student-driven, empirically informed, and theoretically sound analyses of the situation today.

One important assumption here is that models of individual or collective choice as opposed to models of duty in everyday lives is also a default position among religious communities as well as other spheres in our societies. This also suggests that such communities are continuously undergoing both practical and theological readjustments. Religious lives in such communities and outside of them are therefore becoming increasingly diverse and multifaceted, not necessarily disappearing or privatizing.

The arrival of a significant number of people of various religious and cultural backgrounds to Europe since the end of World War II has added to those dynamic changes. Today we can observe a span between spiritual and societal activities within a range of religious, ethnic- and culture-centred congregations (Jewish, Catholic, various Orthodox, Protestant and Evangelical churches, a variety of Islamic communities, Buddhists and Hindu worshippers etc.).

These activities are organised by a variety of faith-based organizations, which work to sustain their respective religious and cultural heritage and interact with their social and political surroundings. In both urban and rural contexts, faith-based organizations, religious communities and associations represent creative collective actors that navigate both the social and political change that surrounds them. For instance, increased patterns of privatization of social services across Europe is providing opportunities for faith-based organizations, among other private actors, to become service providers. This trend, among others, challenges further the secularization theory that seems to fail to explain these recent transformations in religious life in Europe and beyond.

In a number of European contexts, security concerns and social tensions over immigration and diversification of populations are increasingly driving public and media discourses presenting religion and cultural diversity as major threats to public order. In such contexts, securitization of religion and promotion of ideological secularism has become the main political question debated by all political actors. Some of these tensions are reflected in securitization of government policies towards certain religious groups, various legal and political interventions and restrictions, including surveillance of religious communities. Such developments seem to have alienated elements of, or even entire, religious communities in parts of Europe.

The IP 2021 focuses on three challenges that Europe continues to face in the 21st century in relation to religious diversity, cultural coexistence and evolving European identity. This means that the IP 2021 also calls into question some of the scholarly expectations made at the turn of the century by exploring some aspects of those same anticipations.

Some general guiding questions driving the exploration into these challenges are: is it possible to explain changes in religious traditions without the analytical lens of secularization? What are the historical roots of these developments and the role of collective memory in relation to religious traditions? What is the impact of religious communities on the legal framing of the European Union’s commitment to the principles of religious freedom and freedom of expression, and vice versa? What are the synergies of interfaith dialogues in European contexts? What particular theological debates are taking place in various religious communities in Europe? How are “liberal values” envisioned and promoted via media and politics in European contexts vis-à-vis religion and religious freedoms? What are the coping strategies of minority religions in regards to negative majority discourses and government restriction policies? What media narratives can be identified in regards to various religions in European contexts? How do media narratives frame meaning-making discourses vis-à-vis various religious communities in European contexts? Is religious life in contemporary Europe a unique case in comparison to other regions of the world? What about the questions pertaining to gender roles and their changing dynamics? How has the recent arrival of migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers from many different parts of the world affected the European state and public responses vis-à-vis the new residents’ religious practices, beliefs and sentiments?

The IP 2021 covers three interrelated subthemes which explore European religious landscapes, considering conflict between civil and religious rights, civil society and dominant media discourses, and state policies vis-à-vis religious communities in various socio-political and cultural contexts: