Europe

Economy
From 1500 untill 1940, Europe was the world’s dominant trading and industrial region. The destruction of two world wars in the 20th Century crippled development across the continent. In the east, Marxist economics miserably failed to achieve the Utopia it promised, but left behind polluted ecologies, rusting infrastructures and a damaged work ethic. In the west, progress continued. Though hampered to a degree by some trade and industry restrictions and generous union and welfare arrangements, progress was bolstered significantly by the growing clout of economic collaboration and union. The last decade was highlighted by the expansion of the EU to 27 states and 3 candidate countries in 2010, by the continued struggle of much of Eastern Europe to reduce the economic gap between themselves and the west, and by the significant impact of the 2008-2009 financial crisis on many countries in Europe. The combined impact of affluence and a rapidly falling birthrate make Western Europe a magnet for millions from more impoverished lands of Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Politics
From the French Revolution in 1789 until the tearing down of the Berlin Wall in 1989, European political ideologies have had worldwide dominance. Humanism, secularism, socialism, Marxism, fascism, Nazism and moral capitalism have all contributed to such evils as global wars, colonialism and oppression. To the surprise of many secular Europeans, religion and ethnocentrism remain important and major causes for political confrontations, but faith groups are also crucial to much of the social welfare work that occurs. Europe is enjoying a period of unprecedented peace, but tensions within and among European states as well as the growing issue of immigration continue to require watchfulness and wisdom.

Religion
After the Muslim invasions of the 8th Century, Christianity was suppressed or wiped out in the lands of the Middle East where the early Church first took root. For nearly 1,000 years, Europe was the last bastion of Christianity. The encircling Muslim lands – and Turkey’s occupation of southeast Europe – effectively prevented any missionary outreach to Africa and Asia. The emergence of Europe as a colonial power in the 15th Century and the theological impetus of the Reformation in the 16th Century provided the platform for the Church to become a force for world evangelization. The last 250 years have been years of worldwide advance for the gospel but, conversely, decline in Europe. However, in many countries that have seen secularism and anti-religious social policies have their sway, an upswing of spirituality is also occurring.