"De-Baptism" on the Rise in Europe

Europe seems to be going through a crisis of faith as many now seek to be "de-churched" or "de-baptized."

Many disenfranchised ex-parishioners have begun to take it a step further, seeking official, legal acknowledgement for de-baptism. For instance, 71-year-old Frenchman Rene Lebouvier recently filed a lawsuit against the church after his initial request to have his name crossed off the church's baptismal registry was denied. Last October, a lower court in Normandy ruled in his favor, making him the first man to be officially de-baptized, though a local bishop has filed an appeal.

Christian Weisner, a spokesman for the international grassroots We Are Church movement, says he blames much of the de-baptism movement on public anger about church pedophilia scandals, though acknowledges that official church doctrine has also swayed against public opinion on many political issues, such as abortion, homosexuality and married priests.

The problem in the long run is what this will mean for Europe - not the Catholic Church.  The Catholic Church continues to grow in size, especially in areas such as Africa and Asia.  As more and more Europeans - and, by which, I mean the members of the traditional culture of each country - become more secularized, the consequence may well be a cultural suicide.

Why?  As the economic disaster in countries like Greece show, with the increase in secularism there has been seen a decline in the birthrate.  This seems logical - eschewing beliefs that support marriage and family is likely to result in less married people and less childbirth.  It seems, at times, that Europeans between the ages of 30 to 50 do not ant to have children, recognizing that the government benefits continue to become unsustainable and they see themselves as the generation who will enjoy the last "hurrah."

However, the population of Europe is increasing in another way.  In Germany, immigrants from the following countries comprise the top tn groups receicing welfare:

1.   Iraq

2.   Afgahnistan

3.   Pakistan

4.   Ghana

5.   Syria

6.   Iran

7.   Sri Lanka

8.   Algeria

9.   Morocco

10. Nigeria

What do you see in common among these countries? 

The fact is, with the rejection of traditional faith in Europe, I expect that Islam will continue to grow and infiltrate the social and judicial structure.  And this will include the spread of shari'a as the law of the land.

Shari'a - Islamic law.  If Europeans have a problem with the Church's stance on social issues . . . they are not going to like what comes next.

Comes next?  It is already happening.

An Austrian appellate court has upheld the conviction of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, a Viennese housewife and anti-Jihad activist, for “denigrating religious beliefs” after giving a series of seminars about the dangers of radical Islam.

The judge ruled that Sabaditsch-Wolff committed a crime by stating in her seminars about Islam that the Islamic prophet Mohammed was a pedophile.

The judge rationalized that Mohammed’s sexual contact with nine-year-old Aisha could not be considered pedophilia because Mohammed continued his marriage to Aisha until his death.