A decade ago, few would have imagined that Christianity could be experiencing a resurgence among millennials and Generation Z in the most secularized societies on the planet. However, conversions are flourishing in places as unthinkable as England, the United States, France, and Finland. In the final days of 2024, the prestigious British conservative magazine The Spectator published an article entitled “The surprising truth about Christianity’s resurgence in the West .” Its author,  Justin Brierley, uses data to argue that in France, more than 7,000 adults were baptized during the Easter Vigil that year, a 32 percent increase compared to 2023; or how in the United Kingdom, the number of attendees at Church of England services increased by 5 percent: almost one million regular worshippers, according to the 2023 census.

Among podcasters, influencers, and media personalities, Christianity has also continued to gain traction. Actors  Tom Holland and  Russell Brand, singer and artist of the Movida Madrileña movement  Fabio McNamara, Spanish actor  Jaime Lorente, American comedian  Joe Rogan,  and novelist  Paul Kingsnorth have all publicly declared their conversion to the faith in recent years. Is Christianity the socio-spiritual trend of the 21st century?

This is the context in which the professor of Roman Law and thinker  Rafael Domingo Oslé  [Der 85 PhD 87] has written  El sentido del cristianismo (The Meaning of Christianity)  (Esfera de los Libros, 2025), an essay in which he attempts to answer this and other questions.  Rafael Domingo  (Logroño, 1963) is a jurist of renowned prestige. After studying law at the University of Navarra, he was a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the University of Munich and a visiting researcher at Columbia Law School in New York. Since 2012, he has taught at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University in Atlanta. The question of Christianity is not new to him: it is a concern that has accompanied him throughout his career. He is a pioneer in the development of the concept of  global law , a way of understanding relations between countries based not on state sovereignty, but on the dignity of the person. He is also co-editor of the  Journal of Law and Religion  at Cambridge University Press and the author of books such as  The New Global Law  (2010)  and  God and the Secular Legal System  (2016) . He was Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Navarra from 1996 to 1999, and currently holds the Álvaro d’Ors Chair at the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS). In  The Meaning of Christianity,  he offers a profound, contemporary, and provocative look at the transformative value of the Christian faith.

Behind every book there is a question, what was yours?

In New York, I had a conversation with a magnate that made me reflect. He thanked me for all the contributions Christianity has made to humanity, especially in the fields of art, education, and healthcare. But he also insisted that religion was no longer necessary in the public sphere of advanced democratic and pluralistic societies. His approach wasn’t aggressive, but it spoke to me powerfully, from the heart. I felt challenged by his words and replied, “Let me think about what you said, and we’ll talk another time.”

And he answered with a book…

Yes, this book is an answer that comes after long reflection and much reading. I was amused by an expression by comedian  José Mota  who, instead of speaking of the “utterly crazy person,” says the “utterly sane person.” And I started from there. In a fragmented society, overwhelmed by technology and boredom, profoundly arrogant and self-indulgent; in a consumerist environment that, after satiation and exhaustion, assumes euthanasia by default, Christianity emerges as that “utterly sane person” to whom we must turn our attention.

What is the main idea of ​​the book?

I try to explain the need and advantages of a mature democratic society opening itself to transcendence and living as if God existed, always respecting, with due consideration and equality, the rights of believers and non-believers.

“A GOD THAT FITS IN OUR MIND IS JUST A FALSE GOD, A BRAIN GOD, AS LIMITED AS OUR NERVE CENTER”

Do we live in a post-Christian society?

The prefix ”  post”  can be applied to different social contexts, such as in a postmodern, postsecular, or postindustrial society. However, Christians cannot use it in relation to Christianity, as we believe it is here to stay. If God truly is love, as Christianity teaches, and has become incarnate and redeemed and forgiven us, his presence in the world is permanent. These facts make it impossible for us to consider a ”  post ,” an “after,” in relation to his existence.

You argue that Christianity isn’t limited to the private sphere, but rather has social, political, and cultural consequences. What role do you think the hierarchy should play in the public sphere?

The Church hierarchy  must illuminate and inspire politics  from a spiritual perspective, or with ethical or moral orientations, but without actually entering into political debate or acting directly in politics. When this happens, Christianity becomes clericalized, and the freedom of believers is limited. This produces strong social rejection. Examples abound.  Jesus , as he said : “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” The hierarchy must illuminate with the authority of faith, with  auctoritas , as my teacher  Álvaro d’Ors would say . Never with the  power  of coercion, because  ecclesiastical power  is not civil power.

Given the widespread assertion that “I’m spiritual, but not religious,” can we say that we are on the right path by having that inner longing?

Without a doubt, I believe that one of the most significant contributions of today’s youth is their profound spiritual focus. It manifests itself in various attitudes, such as a sincere respect for nature, a search for transcendence, and a yearning for authentic freedom. Although they may seem to distance themselves from religious traditions, I believe this path toward spirituality will lead them to a deeper connection with the sacred. Beauty, truth, goodness, unity, religion, and spirituality are intrinsically intertwined; therefore, one leads naturally to the other.

How does spirituality differ from religion?

In our time, the idea of ​​religion refers to an organized system of beliefs, moral customs, and ritual practices. Religions are usually institutionalized and have sacred texts and communities of followers, as well as a code of moral standards. Spirituality, however, consists of a more personal and subjective search for meaning, significance, and connection with oneself, others, the universe, the divine, and God, in short. It is not necessarily tied to a formal structure or doctrine and can include practices such as meditation or connection with nature. Therefore, in our time, one can be spiritual but not religious, and socially religious but not very spiritual. However, in a Christianity lived to its fullest extent, spirituality and religion merge, like the garden and the earth. A religion without a deep spirituality ends in the fundamentalism of a fanatic. A spirituality totally disconnected from religion ends up weakening, or itself becoming a new religion. This is the case of the New Age .

Should Christianity be spiritualized?

Of course. The drama of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church or some cases of corruption have occurred due to a lack of spiritualization. And there are people who may live a very unspiritual Christianity, such as those who behave badly with their coworkers or their families during the week, and on Sundays attend Mass. We need to become more spiritualized; that’s why  it’s good to see religion and spirituality as two conceptually distinct realities that must be integrated . A deeply spiritualized Christianity leads to a contemplative life and, ultimately, to holiness, which is nothing other than a permanent union with the loving God.

And how can we Christians become more spiritual in the midst of a world dominated by images and digital immediacy?

We must understand the multidimensionality of the human being. We are an incarnate spirit, as the great genius  Leonardo Polo said : a handful of emotions and feelings, acting in a physical body with a mind, understanding, will, and soul.  Saint Hilary of Poitiers , Father of the Church, says that God the Father is silence, God the Son is word, God the Holy Spirit is breath. God can be discovered through silence and through word, and also through breath; by internalizing myself to the point of seeing myself as the image of God, or by discovering that divine Trinitarian image in others.

What do you think has been the Achilles heel of Christians?

That we have been unaware of our own treasure, and at times we have sold it for a mess of pottage.  We Christians must rediscover the beauty of Christianity , its transformative power for society and individuals, its distinctly divine and at the same time human essence. We must see revelation as a marvelous gift; the liturgy as an encounter with the divine; and the Eucharist as the summit where heaven and earth meet. A Christian conscious of the mystery of Revelation falls to his knees in thanksgiving and weeps, weeps like a child, which is the best attitude for approaching a Father who loves us infinitely.

Why do you state in your book that Christianity is not fundamentally a religion?

From a sociological point of view, it has been classified as a religion, and it is. But  Christianity is more than a religion , it is more than a system of dogmas, an ethical code, or a liturgy. It is more than the Bible. It is  a God who, with possessive love ( eros ), seeks man , who comes to meet him, to deify him eternally. That is why he created him in his image and likeness. So that he can unite himself to Him forever. It is God’s plan rather than a human plan in search of God. Of course, it is absolutely free, because  without freedom there is no love . Freedom is a necessary, though not sufficient, condition for the existence of love.

You maintain that Christianity has much to offer the contemporary world. What would you say is its most urgent or necessary contribution today?

Teach forgiveness.  A highly technological society that does not learn to forgive is destined for self-destruction. The revolution of Christianity is the revolution of forgiveness, the revolution of a God who forgives and invites us to forgive even our enemies. This is not do-goodism, nor surrender, nor renunciation, but liberation. It is no surprise that  recent popes  have spoken so forcefully about the need to establish a civilization of love in the world.

What can Christianity offer that society doesn’t offer today?

A true sense of poverty.  Christianity has the important social mission of implementing  Jesus Christ ‘s revolutionary message  on poverty. This concept should not be limited solely to extreme material poverty, contrary to the dignity of the person, but must expand to encompass all dimensions of the human being. Capitalism has restricted the dual relationship of asking and sharing to the logic of the market, where economic profit predominates. However, as  Benedict XVI warned, following European thinkers, there is a broader and more supportive framework based on the logic of giving and gratuitousness, which not only includes but also transcends the logic of the market.  The universalization of market logic  leads to the commodification of what is most genuinely human:  we put a price on the human body , or its parts. The universalization of the logic of giving leads to the dignification of the human.  The image of God is priceless. Neither is our freedom.

“THE HIERARCHY MUST ILLUMINATE WITH THE AUTHORITY OF FAITH, WITH AUCTORITAS. NEVER WITH THE POTESTAS OF COERCION.”

According to the latest data, young people in Western countries are beginning to show interest in Christianity. Do you see it as an authentic form of faith or more of an emerging spirituality?

A person who pauses deeply to think and contemplate these realities without fear ends up finding God, love personified. Man is the image of God, and when man considers himself the image of man or his own creation, he substitutes God for man and fails to understand himself. Man can only be understood through God.  Christianity shows man as the visible image of an invisible God.  More is impossible. When God made man, the innermost part of the deity was inseparably united with man. This means that we are the image of God.

What do you think of recent attempts to prove the existence of God through science?

God is not a scientific hypothesis because  he is above science . A scientific god would be a caricature of God. A God who fits within our mind is merely a false god, a cerebral god, as limited as our nervous system. The mind is an excellent tool to use in trying to reach God, but it is not the only one, and probably not even the most important. I am more inclined to favor the experience of God than the argumentative path. Besides, when we die, our experience of God will continue; but our mind—understood in its corporeal sense—disconnected from the brain, will not survive.

Can you point out any scientists who seem relevant to you?

I’m inclined to favor the contribution to this debate by  John C. Polkinghorne  (1930–2021), whose thinking I identify with. He explains how quantum physics and theology are united by the common desire to understand reality.  Polkinghorne  asserts that the two approaches are complementary: two different ways of approaching the only reality that nourish and support each other. At our university,  Javier Sánchez Cañizares  has just written an excellent book entitled  How the Spirit Acts in the World , which I highly recommend reading.

Can you give some examples?

Of course. Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon in quantum physics that shows us that two particles can be connected regardless of the distance separating them. The state of one particle instantaneously affects the state of the other. This fact challenges our intuitions about localization and causality. Something similar happens in Christian theology when it speaks to us of  the interconnectedness of all human beings through the communion of saints , regardless of distance and causality. You feel very close to your daughter, for example, even though she is on another continent. On the other hand, the role of the observer in quantum mechanics bears some resemblance to the reflections of Christian theology on the relationship of the Creator—and of human beings as His image—with the universe. The universe functions because it is observed. And human beings live because they are looked upon with eternal love by God.

In the chapter “A Secular and Free Society,” you devote some space to discussing the debate between Jürgen Habermas and Joseph Ratzinger, two of the foremost thinkers on secularism and religion. What lessons can we draw from that historic intellectual dialogue?

The first thing I would highlight is the capacity for simple, profound, and sincere dialogue. Now you go to Parliament and  no one listens to anyone . Each person reads their speech or insults the other and walks away. There is no debate, no seeking or admiring the other’s argument. In short: what matters is not the truth or the common good, but rather imposing the will of the party. The fact that then-Cardinal  Joseph Ratzinger  met with  Habermas in Munich  to debate, in the presence of other great philosophers such as  Robert Spaemann  (an  honorary doctorate  from our university), about religion and central themes of human existence is a lesson for all. In addition to being an example of listening, the importance of recognizing one’s own limitations was also evident, as when  Ratzinger  acknowledged the complexity of the concept of natural law, because we don’t have the answer to everything.  Habermas , for his part, acknowledged that secularization was being misunderstood because it led to contempt for religion.

“THE UNIVERSALIZATION OF MARKET LOGIC LEADS TO THE COMMODIFICATION OF WHAT IS MOST GENUINELY HUMAN: THE BODY”

What central message would you like to see remain from Christianity in the 21st century?

Recovering the idea of ​​contemplation. At this university, we have it easy with the museum built a decade ago and the work carried out there. The  German theologian  Karl Rahner  is credited with the famous phrase:  “In the 21st century, Christians will be mystics or they will not exist .” A Christianity without contemplation ends up hardening, becoming a bundle of moral rules and rituals and succumbing to scientific rationalism or consumerist materialism. And a society that does not contemplate becomes constricted.

How does contemplation affect ordinary life?

Christian contemplation, of which natural contemplation is the first step, opens the door of our hearts to God. Therefore, contemplation, little by little, transforms and divinizes us, introducing us to the divine life within the Trinity, and our soul feels the joy of seeing itself close to God.  Christification then occurs , which, in the words of  Saint Paul , consists in “no longer I who live, but  Christ  lives in me.” It is then that human beings become contemplative wherever they are and whatever they do: climbing a mountain, listening to a boring lecture, shooting a goal, attending a seminar, having a beer at  Faustino’s , running a marathon. Or lying in an operating room.

It sounds like the message of  Saint Josemaría

That’s right. At this historic moment, the message of the founder of the University of Navarra about being contemplative in the midst of the world resonates with a singular, almost thunderous force. And in every corner of this beautiful campus, where he delivered his famous homily, ”  Loving the World Passionately ,” an echo of that transformative message reverberates.

Rocío García de Leániz. Our Time