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Show Julianne R. Sabula Major: Undeclared IN THE SPIRIT OF GLOBALIZATION: THE SPREAD OF AMERICAN RELIGIONS IN SECULAR EUROPE Julianne R. Sabula, (Colleen McDannell) Department of History, University of Utah Faculty Sponsor Colleen McDannell Ph.D. There is a common notion that in modern Western society, religion is on the decline and science has replaced it as a way of looking at the world. In Europe, where studies show much lower rates of church attendance than in the United States, there has been a surprising growth of Ameri-can-born religions. This project looks for patterns in the growth of these religions, as well as the current body of theoretical explanations. It explores whether there is evidence that the very other-worldliness and supernatural orientation of a reli-gion or religious movement establishes a sense of community. First, American religious communities and movements with active missionaries, es-tablished religious communities, or sup-porting organizations in Western Europe were identified and growth patterns were sought. While there were ample data on some groups, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Church of Scientology, current data on others were unavailable, such as the Jehovah's Wit-nesses and the New Age Movement. This was largely because the former groups are institutionally more focused on com-munications and the gathering of data. Additionally, comparative growth and de-cline was unclear because of differences in data gathering methods and definitions. Criteria for membership, practice, adher-ence and belief were inconsistent among the religious groups themselves, as well as among the various governmental and academic entities that study them. Second, scholarly writings on religion in twentieth century Europe were explored for possible explanations for European growth patterns. Jarvis asserts that the desire to create an atmosphere of famil-iarity and community in a time of global-ization through an emphasis on universal values, such as family relationships, point Europeans to Mormonism. Riis suggests that a secular public life does not negate a personal supernatural orientation. This is significant in that American reli-gions, born in a climate of individualism, may allow unique opportunities for per-sonalization. Introvigne and Ambrosio's findings support the notion that religious activity is not expected primarily in un-educated, poor or otherwise struggling groups. In Italy, the primary targets of new religious movements are execu-tives, university students, and plebeians. Gordon Melton discredits "social unrest theories" by pointing to historical data that have been erroneously used to de-fine religion as "epiphenomal." He sug-gests that religion is as much an agent of change as a result of change. His data also confirm that, despite statis-tics on church attendance, "country by country, Europe has welcomed far more new religions (per million persons in the population) than the United States." A triangulation of the current scholarship suggests a need for further research, em-ploying well-defined methodology and objective analysis, stripped of unques-tioned assumptions, into the role of reli-gion in contemporary Western thinking. |
