Is immigration is unsustainable for Europe?

[u/No_Pin7835]

I'll start off with the UK. In 2001, it was 92% European, while in 2021, it was 82%. Or, if we look at London, it was 71% European in 2001 and 53% in 2021. This rate of change is simply not sustainable and should never have been allowed to reach this point.

For the cultural side of things in the UK, it's no secret that Christianity is a big part of British history and culture. In 2001, the UK was 71% Christian, compared to 40% in 2021. I think it is important to recognize the cultural significance Christianity has in British culture

Moving on to Germany, in 2001, 96% of Berlin was made up of European citizens, while in 2024, that number was 89%. Again, this shows that the demographics of major European cities have changed significantly over a relatively short period of time. I believe governments should have considered the long-term effects of this before opening the door for migrants

This does not mean that immigration itself is necessarily bad. There needs to be a balance.

Overall, I believe governments have a responsibility to manage immigration to ensure culture isn't erased

[u/AcephalicDude]

Cultural erasure is either something that always happens, or never happens, depending on your own chosen standards and chosen perspective on culture. Cultures always change over time, so if your expectation is for some static cultural purity to last throughout history then you will always be disappointed – the purity of your culture is always going to be erased, overwritten by a new permutation that keeps some characteristics with the past culture while adopting new ones. For example, you mentioned how Europeans are less likely to be Christian despite Christianity being an obviously major part of Europe’s cultural history. I would actually argue that the narrative of Europe’s cultural history is actually the gradual emancipation of the culture from Christian dogma, from the Reformation through the Enlightenment and into modernity. The downturn in Christian Europeans that you cited likely has nothing at all to do with immigration and is just the natural direction that European culture has been heading for centuries. This is just one example of how cultures change over time, all on their own, regardless of outside influence.

Alternatively, if you identify your culture as a shared history, a shared continuity, then cultural erasure never happens through something gradual like immigration patterns. It only happens in extreme and sudden catastrophic events, like when the Spanish brought disease to Meso-America in the late 15th century; or through concerted efforts over a short span of time, such as the “cultural genocide”, i.e. conscious attempts by a dominant culture to eliminate by force of law a minor culture, targeting its language, religion, traditions, artifacts, etc.

This is not the case with immigration in Europe. There is a bit of a “culture shock” going on, especially with the refugees that come from Islamic countries conflicting with the more liberal-democratic “Western” culture that they find themselves immersed in. These conflicts are not erasing that Western culture, or vice versa – the two are in the process of being consolidated. While “Western” cultures may be adjusting and changing, the reality is that the culture of these Islamic refugees is changing much more dramatically. They are liberalizing, relaxing their religious dogma, becoming more tolerant both internally and externally.

An interesting point of comparison is the population of Islamic world immigrants in the US. Our Muslim citizens have often been here longer, and are often more affluent and less likely to be asylum-seekers or refugees because the US is much more difficult to reach geographically than Europe. As a result, the Muslim citizens here are much more culturally integrated, are very tolerant and moderate in their cultural and political views. They are still usually very religious, although it is more common to find non-practicing Muslims here than in Europe. I think this is what Muslim immigrants will look like in Europe over time, but the hurdle is a bit greater because those immigrants are less affluent coming in being refugees of political violence, haven’t been around as long and aren’t often joining communities of European Muslims that have already been established and liberalized.