Europe and Invisible Religion

This introductory article begins by sketching Luckmann's theory of invisible religion. It lays stress particularly on the recent modifications of this theory: in addition to the well-known anthropological notion of transcendence, Luckmann elaborates a detailed phenomenological notion of transcendence, distinguishing between three levels of transcendence. This innovation, it is argued, not only affects Luckmann's general theory of religion. It also sheds a new light on the religious situation in Europe. Europe is, indeed, characterized by the decrease of religion as opposed to other areas of the world where we discern a kind of “resacralization”. However, three restrictions apply to this statement: the religious situation in Europe is still very diverse; the institutional role of the churches in Europe is quite specific, and, finally, if we apply Luckmann's notion of religion, we can detect a blooming alternative religiosity in Europe which parallels the global tendency.