Hope Beyond Politics in Europe

But if Europe as a whole has no time for Christianity, let alone confessional Protestantism, it is clear that among a section of the youth, something is happening. Of course, many young people are moving toward the radical politics of the extremes. The search for meaning, perhaps for a cause worth dying for, is understandable in an age that presents human fulfillment as a consumerist dream (while producing economic realities that place this dream out of reach for many). Yet radical politics, left and right, is too often dehumanizing. It reduces its opponents to a set of beliefs and in so doing dehumanizes its adherents too, leading them to despise those also made in the image of God. Christianity, by way of contrast, offers a cause worth living—and dying—for that places a true humanity at its core, a humanity in communion with God through the work of Jesus Christ. It offers joy in the face of bitterness, faith in the face of cynicism, and redemption in the face of perpetual retribution. It is good to see that many young people want something more than the online mortal combat offered by myriad political influencers.