loss of Europe's religious faith is not the problem

Submitted by Jeffrey Bale (United States), Mar 12, 2007 at 20:06

In your article, you seem to be arguing - as Melanie Phillips did in her recent book Londonistan - that it is primarily Europe's "extreme secularism" and its resultant abandonment of faith in its Christian heritage and traditions that has made it incapable of defending its civilizational values against the growing threat posed by Islamist militancy and high Muslim birth rates. I beg to differ.

The solution to the problem posed by Islamism and Islam is not a reaffirmation of faith in Christianity, least of all its militant and intolerant forms, since the best remedy for religious fanaticism from one quarter cannot be religious fanaticism of another sort. Hence the problem is not that Europeans have become secular, but precisely the opposite: that they have abandoned faith in the secular Enlightenment tradition that has played such a decisive role in making Western civilization so dynamic and - dare I say it? - superior to traditional, pre-modern societies elsewhere in every meaningful way, e.g., in terms of the promotion of individual and collective freedom, social mobility, equality before the law, productivity, and intellectual and scientific innovation.

In short, the problem lies in the Western intelligentsia's alienation from and abandonment of its secular Englightenment traditions and its embrace of extreme relativism, postmodernism, uncritical tolerance of others, and general self-flagellation. What is need is for the West to rise up in support of the Enlightenment, not to harken back to its pre-Enlightenment religiosity.

Likewise, the solution for the Muslim world is to abandon its efforts to restore the pristine Muslim community of the 7th century and face modern realities.

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