Editing Christianity (section)

==== Post-Enlightenment ====
[[File:Madonna and Child, Kakure Kirishitan.jpg|thumb|A depiction of [[Madonna and Child]] in a 19th-century [[Kakure Kirishitan]] [[Ukiyo-e|Japanese woodcut]]]]
In the era known as the [[Great Divergence]], when in the West, the [[Age of Enlightenment]] and the [[scientific revolution]] brought about great societal changes, Christianity was confronted with various forms of [[skepticism]] and with certain modern [[Ideology|political ideologies]], such as versions of [[socialism]] and [[liberalism]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Novak|first=Michael|title=Catholic social thought and liberal institutions: Freedom with justice|year=1988|publisher=Transaction|isbn=978-0-88738-763-0|page=63|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7pb1GDmxA1UC&pg=PA63}}</ref> Events ranged from mere [[anti-clericalism]] to violent outbursts against Christianity, such as the [[dechristianisation of France during the French Revolution|dechristianization of France during the French Revolution]],<ref>Mortimer Chambers, ''The Western Experience'' (vol. 2) chapter 21.</ref> the [[Spanish Civil War]], and certain [[Marxism|Marxist]] movements, especially [[Russian Revolution (1917)|the Russian Revolution]] and the [[persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union]] under [[state atheism]].<ref>''Religion and the State in Russia and China: Suppression, Survival, and Revival'', by Christopher Marsh, p. 47. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2011.</ref><ref>''Inside Central Asia: A Political and Cultural History'', by Dilip Hiro. Penguin, 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Adappur|first=Abraham|title=Religion and the Cultural Crisis in India and the West|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=44DYAAAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Intercultural Publications|isbn=978-8185574479|quote=Forced Conversion under Atheistic Regimes: It might be added that the most modern example of forced "conversions" came not from any theocratic state, but from a professedly atheist government—that of the Soviet Union under the Communists.}}</ref><ref>Geoffrey Blainey 2011). ''A Short History of Christianity''; Viking; p. 494</ref>

Especially pressing in Europe was the formation of [[nation states]] after the [[Napoleonic era]]. In all European countries, different Christian denominations found themselves in competition to greater or lesser extents with each other and with the state. Variables were the relative sizes of the denominations and the religious, political, and ideological orientation of the states. Urs Altermatt of the [[University of Fribourg]], looking specifically at Catholicism in Europe, identifies four models for the European nations. In traditionally Catholic-majority countries such as Belgium, Spain, and Austria, to some extent, religious and national communities are more or less identical. Cultural symbiosis and separation are found in Poland, the Republic of Ireland, and Switzerland, all countries with competing denominations. Competition is found in Germany, the Netherlands, and again Switzerland, all countries with minority Catholic populations, which to a greater or lesser extent identified with the nation. Finally, separation between religion (again, specifically Catholicism) and the state is found to a great degree in France and Italy, countries where the state actively opposed itself to the authority of the Catholic Church.<ref>{{cite book|last=Altermatt|first=Urs|title=Religion und Nation: Katholizismen im Europa des 19. und 20. Jahrhundert|year=2007|publisher=[[Kohlhammer Verlag]]|isbn=978-3-17-019977-4|pages=15–34|editor-first=Urs |editor-last=Altermatt |editor-first2=Franziska |editor-last2=Metzger|language=de|chapter=Katholizismus und Nation: Vier Modelle in europäisch-vergleichender Perspektive}}</ref>

The combined factors of the formation of nation states and [[ultramontanism]], especially in Germany and the Netherlands, but also in England to a much lesser extent,<ref>{{cite book |last=Heimann |first=Mary |title=Catholic Devotion in Victorian England |year=1995 |publisher=Clarendon |isbn=978-0-19-820597-5 |pages=165–173}}</ref> often forced Catholic churches, organizations, and believers to choose between the national demands of the state and the authority of the Church, specifically the papacy. This conflict came to a head in the [[First Vatican Council]], and in Germany would lead directly to the ''[[Kulturkampf]]''.<ref>''The Oxford Handbook of Modern German History'' Helmut Walser Smith, p. 360, OUP Oxford, 2011</ref>

[[File:Consecration of new pastors.jpg|thumb|[[Ordination]] of new pastors in [[Cameroon]], 2014]]
Christian commitment in Europe dropped as modernity and secularism came into their own,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12811197 | work=BBC News | title=Religion may become extinct in nine nations, study says |date=22 March 2011}}</ref> particularly in the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Estonia]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~honkawa/9460.html |script-title=ja:図録▽世界各国の宗教 |publisher=.ttcn.ne.jp |language=ja |access-date=17 August 2012 |archive-date=18 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120818064540/http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~honkawa/9460.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> while religious commitments in America have been generally high in comparison to Europe. Changes in worldwide Christianity over the last century have been significant, since 1900, Christianity has spread rapidly in the [[Global South]] and Third World countries.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Jenkins |year=2011 |title=The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity |chapter=The Rise of the New Christianity |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rPBoAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA101 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=101–133 |isbn=978-0-19-976746-5}}</ref> The late 20th century has shown the shift of Christian adherence to the [[Third World]] and the Southern Hemisphere in general,<ref>{{cite book |page=2 |title=Christianity as a World Religion |author-last1=Kim |author-first1=Sebastian |author-last2=Kim|author-link=Sebastian Kim |author-first2=Kirsteen |author-link2=Kirsteen Kim |publisher=Continuum|location=London |year=2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Jehu |last=Hanciles |title=Beyond Christendom: Globalization, African Migration, and the Transformation of the West |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vmCDAwAAQBAJ |year=2008 |publisher=Orbis |isbn=978-1-60833-103-1}}</ref> with the West no longer the chief standard bearer of Christianity. Approximately 7 to 10% of [[Arabs]] are [[Arab Christians and Arabic-speaking Christians|Christians]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Fargues|first=Philippe |title=Christian Communities in the Middle East |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-19-829388-0 |chapter=A Demographic Perspective |editor1-last=Pacini |editor1-first=Andrea}}</ref> most prevalent in Egypt, [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Todd |title=Christianity in the Middle East |url=https://www.gordonconwell.edu/blog/christianity-in-the-middle-east/ |website=[[Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary]] |access-date=13 December 2024 |date=26 February 2020}}</ref>