ABSTRACT
Religion and church continue to have a marked significance in European countries at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century. The purpose of this chapter is to research more precisely about the present social relevance of religion and church in Eastern and Western Europe. The study of Eastern Europe allows a widening of the focus in relation to the determinative factors of the change in religion. In particular, the increased status in Eastern Europe of national churches, religious movements, and ethnic conflicts within the religious sphere is obvious. The constant dispute concerning the role of religion in modern Europe has a great deal to do with the use of foundational theoretical premises and conceptions. In almost all countries in Europe, the separation of church and state has been sharpened in the last hundred years, without resulting in an increase in religiosity.
