Religion and Socio-Cultural Transformation: European Perspectives and Beyond

Constant change is a permanent feature of contemporary European societies – not least in relation to their religious landscapes. This transformation is driven by various religious and socio-cultural factors, some of which are intertwined, in conflict, or mutually dependent upon each other: ongoing individualization, issues of gender identity and sexual orientation, digitalization and artificial intelligence, and ecological crises. In this context, religion is caught in the tension between several – sometimes opposing – forces, and progressive secularization meets the increasing public visibility of religion due to migration and religious pluralization. How can religions, with their moral, cultural, and symbolic reservoirs, contribute to holding diverse communities together, beyond national identity? Can religions promote the social cohesion of European societies? Can the imagination that drives different religious traditions provide religious and non- religious Europeans with resources to promote individual and collective change for the better? This 8th volume in the series EUARE LECTURES contains the six keynote lectures dealing with these – and many other – questions as these lectures were presented at the European Academy of Religion’s Annual Conference, organized by the Research Centre Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society at the University of Vienna. Authors of these papers are Franz Fischler (Former EU Commissioner and President of the European Forum Alpbach), Grace Davie (University of Exeter), Isabella Guanzini (Catholic Private University of Linz), Rik Torfs (KU Leuven), Tariq Modood (University of Bristol), Hans Schelkshorn (University of Vienna).