“Europe is being transformed beyond recognition, hollowed out culturally and overrun by hordes of Muslim migrants in an irreversible process of civilisational decline”.
So prominent voices proclaim. In this telling, Europe’s decline is demographic and religious, driven by migration and the erosion of a once-Christian civilisation.
But does this narrative hold up under scrutiny? Is migration really the most serious threat to Europe’s stability? Or does that come from those eroding democratic confidence from within?
Who is actually arriving in Europe? It is often wrongly assumed that migration to Europe is overwhelmingly Muslim. Pew Research Center reports that 56 per cent of migrants arriving in Europe are Christians, mainly from elsewhere within Europe. Muslims make up 18 per cent migrants in Europe, although they constitute only seven per cent of Europe’s overall population.
Paradoxically, migration to ‘post-Christian’ Europe has become one of the main ways Christianity is being reintroduced and renewed. Churches that once struggled to fill pews now host multilingual services, vibrant choirs, and strong patterns of prayer and community life—often sustained by migrants. This does not signal a loss of Europe’s religious heritage, but a transformation of how that heritage is lived.
Christian migrants are arriving particularly from sub-Saharan Africa, parts of the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Many belong to Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecostal, or evangelical traditions. In countries such as Italy, Spain, France, and Germany, African and Middle Eastern Christians are increasingly visible in congregations that would otherwise be shrinking.
Muslims in Europe
Perceptions of Muslim populations are much higher than reality, largely due to populist fear politics. While surveys in France, for example, reveal public estimates of Muslims constituting 30% of the population, reality is 8-9%. Muslims remain a clear minority overall, even under long-term demographic projections.
European law remains secular, constitutional, and anchored in human-rights norms. While some Sharia councils or Islamic arbitration tribunals do exist in the UK to resolve certain disputes among Muslims, these councils do not override British law.
Challenges related to integration, social segregation and religious extremism do exist and must be addressed seriously. Yet countries with significant Muslim minorities—France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden—remain among the world’s most stable societies, with high standards of living, strong welfare systems and robust institutions.
Much of the alarmist rhetoric about Europe comes from across the Atlantic, portraying Europe as declining while America remains the bastion of freedom and prosperity. Yet most Western European countries outperform the United States, often by a wide margin, across measures such as life expectancy, infant mortality, access to healthcare, social mobility, income inequality, work–life balance, transparency, democracy, press freedom and Human Development Index rankings. Europeans live longer, face lower risks of medical bankruptcy, are happier, enjoy stronger labour protections, and experience lower levels of violent crime.
Notably, these outcomes persist in countries with larger Muslim populations, undermining the claim that diversity correlates with social breakdown. France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia remain among the world’s most stable and prosperous societies by every major index.
The United States, by contrast, struggles with declining life expectancy, extreme inequality, mass incarceration and fragile social safety nets—despite having a far smaller Muslim population.
Far-right threat
The far-right, by contrast, poses a structural threat. Unlike migrants or religious minorities, far-right populist movements explicitly seek power—and once in power, they often weaken the very institutions that sustain democratic life.
Across Europe, populists have attacked judicial independence, undermined media freedom, delegitimised elections and portrayed political opponents as enemies of the nation. They claim to defend ‘Christian Europe’, yet display little commitment to Christian ethics of dignity, truth, care for the vulnerable, justice, mercy and humility. Nor to the Great Commandment to love one’s neighbour – and the sojourner! Christianity becomes a cultural badge rather than a moral compass.
Europe’s gravest crises have not been caused by religious diversity, but by nationalist movements which absolutised identity and rejected pluralism. Far-right movements rely on permanent cultural alarm, presenting diversity as invasion and coexistence as surrender.
Public fear of Muslims far exceeds their actual numbers or measurable social impact. This gap between perception and reality is not accidental; it is cultivated. In the process, Europe’s real challenges—ageing populations, economic inequality, climate stress, geopolitical pressure from authoritarian regimes—are sidelined.
No, Europe is not being overwhelmed by Muslims. In many places, Christianity is being renewed by migrants. The far greater danger lies elsewhere: in nationalistic movements that exploit fear, hollow out democratic institutions, and turn cultural identity into a weapon.
In this month’s Schuman Talk on Monday evening, I will interview two Ukrainian professors about a church leader of last century named Andrej Sheptytskyy who repeatedly warned that nationalism turns destructive when it justifies hatred or violence against other peoples, treats one nation as morally superior, and excuses injustice ‘for the sake of the nation’.
In his pastoral letters, he stressed that no national cause can justify murder, terror, or oppression, even in times of war or struggle for independence.
Rather, our response must be to love God and our neighbours, and seek the common good of all.