The starting point of this lecture is found in the work of Tomáš Halik, and in particular his most recent book The Afternoon of Christianity: The Courage to Change. Fr. Halik - a Czech Catholic priest trained in both theology and sociology - emphasizes the importance of context in understanding the place of religion in modern societies. Context is considered in terms of time as well as space and is constantly changing. The second section draws briefly on an article by Grace Davie that was published in 2006 which focused on factors to be considered in order to understand the religious situation in Europe at the turn of the millennium. The third section indicates the changes that have taken place since then and the reasons for these. Some changes were expected; others less so, notably the growth of populism right across Europe and the place of religion in this. The mood is darker. The key to understanding these shifts is to hold together two much-studied phenomena: continuing - indeed remorseless - secularization and growing religious diversity. The implications are considerable.