Europe at the Receiving End: Historical Background on Adventists and Immigration

Since the end of the Second World War in 1945, Europe has experienced some dramatic events and drastic changes that have had consequences on population structures and economies. To this must be added that secularism and immigration during the last thirty years have changed European religious life. These positive and negative developments have also affected Seventh-day Adventist churches. In order to obtain a reasonable understanding of the latter developments this article will look at various historical and population issues which include colonization, foreign missions, secularism, and immigration issues.