Culture Christianity and clash of religions

The People’s Church of today is an umbrella for various sorts of Christianity, the dominant group being the 75 percent Culture Christians who use the church for baptism, confirmation and funerals and partly also for weddings, even though they have no personal relation to congregational life, creed and Bible. 10-15 pct. of the Danes are Church Christians, attending services or other church activities at a more or less regular basis. A small group may be labelled individual Christians as they relate personally to Christianity without much relation to the church.

Culture Christianity consists of a Christian influenced world view, a concept of man and some basic ethical and existential values deriving from Christianity together with a preference for using Christian inspired language in important situations. For Culture Christians a major part of their culture is Christian whereas their entire cultures is most certainly not, nor are their religious beliefs if they have any. Culture Christianity does not come alive by itself, nor is it being kept alive by itself. It is the child of the teaching of the People’s Church throughout the centuries. Culture Christians have no ways and rituals of their own for the transmission of Culture Christianity to their children. Culture Christians are depending on the People’s Church which is again relying on the existence of Culture Christianity. Culture Christianity is historically established as a result of compulsory confirmations classes, in Denmark from 1736. Today confirmation classes teach approximately 70 percent of the young people church Christianity to the result that they become Culture Christians. Also what is heard by those attending the rituals of the People’s Church contributes to the upholding of Culture Christianity in the Danish people.

With only 2 percent of the church members attending church during a normal Sunday, Denmark has the world’s weakest religious participation in weekly services. As there are practically no competition from the small so called "free churches" outside the People’s Church, the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark may thus be labelled "the weakest Monopoly Church in the World".

Primarily due to immigration during recent decades Islam has become a visible alternative to Church Christianity – and the normal Culture Christianity. This – together with a revival of old folk religiosity in modern dressing – has recently made most church leaders aware that the church can only remain Christian as a church in mission. It is, however, difficult to be a church in mission, when the church is governed by the secular state and the majority of members are Culture Christians.

Since 2001 the People’s Church has been taken hostage as a part of Danish nationalism by especially Danish People’s Party, which is supporting the bourgeois government. Political parties from the opposition are more inclined to treat religions equally in a situation, where immigration means that Denmark has approximately 4 percent Muslims and probably almost as many non-Lutheran Christians with only semi-recognised status.The Danish Cartoon Crises – called in Denmark the Muhammad Cartoon Crises – evolved in this setting in 2006/2007.