coexistence demands a level of humility and generosity from us all

The news that France's far-right National Front party led by Marine le pen has made big gains in the first round of regional elections, has been met with both surprise and shock. One commentator said that the National Front has gone from pariah status to mainstream. While triumph may not necessarily translate into power, and far right means different things in different countries, part of the appeal of many such parties is a return to an old way of being, French, German, British – almost any European society. Looking back to another time or recreating the past is a way of imagining a future and today forms part of Europe’s wider soul searching. Here, extolling Europe’s Christian past and present is one way of contrasting the desirable from the undesirable. A popular trope is to pit Christianity against Islam – Europe’s past was Christian, and her future must also remain Christian especially when facing the Islamification of her borders.

The last few decades have been an unusual time when it comes to religious faith in Europe. We have the demise of structural organised religion, the clash between religion and the public space, the search for individual identity and freedom within our faiths. Alongside that, globalisation means that we now live in a world of new diasporas, colliding communities, of neighbours who were once strangers in a foreign land with foreign customs and practices. Many struggle with this kind of difference and I can understand why. Here diversity
is extolled as an ethical and political imperative, cultural and religious mix is applauded even though many are not convinced or remain indifferent; we just deal with it when we have to; for others diversity is enriching and meaningful, unsettling us but also, making us less complacent about who we are.

The truth is that cultures, civilizations and lifestyles do not clash. It is human beings with their own interests desire and ambitions who clash often aided by political rhetoric, whether liberal left or conservative right.

In reality there is no alternative to coexistence but coexistence demands a level of humility and generosity from us all. Fear and suspicion can paralyse us. Fear of Muslims, fear of black people, foreigners and refugees. It can lead to the mindset of republican hopeful Donald Trump who has called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.’

In the relatively peaceful societies of Europe, a continent which brought down walls, rather than built new ones, how we speak of our faith, our culture and our nation’s pride says something about ourselves. We can speak of Europe’s Christian past, we may even regret the changes but the future still lies before us. All of us have a stake in this future and all of us have a choice - whether to use the language of religion to instil fear or to use it to inspire hope.