Representing Religion in the European Union

Representing Religion in the European Union PDF

Author: Lucian Leuştean

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0415685044

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Examining religious representation at the state, transnational and institutional levels, this volume demonstrates that religion is becoming an increasingly important element of the decision-making process. It provides a comprehensive analysis of religious representation in the European Union that will be of great interest to students and scholars of European politics, sociology of religion and international relations.

Religion and the Struggle for European Union

Religion and the Struggle for European Union PDF

Author: Brent F. Nelsen

Publisher: Georgetown University Press

Published: 2015-05-01

Total Pages: 383

ISBN-13: 1626160716

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In Religion and the Struggle for European Union, Brent F. Nelsen and James L. Guth delve into the powerful role of religion in shaping European attitudes on politics, political integration, and the national and continental identities of its leaders and citizens. Nelsen and Guth contend that for centuries Catholicism promoted the universality of the Church and the essential unity of Christendom. Protestantism, by contrast, esteemed particularity and feared Catholic dominance. These differing visions of Europe have influenced the process of postwar integration in profound ways. Nelsen and Guth compare the Catholic view of Europe as a single cultural entity best governed as a unified polity against traditional Protestant estrangement from continental culture and its preference for pragmatic cooperation over the sacrifice of sovereignty. As the authors show, this deep cultural divide, rooted in the struggles of the Reformation, resists the ongoing secularization of the continent. Unless addressed, it threatens decades of hard-won gains in security and prosperity. Farsighted and rich with data, Religion and the Struggle for European Union offers a pragmatic way forward in the EU's attempts to solve its social, economic, and political crises.

Religion, Politics and Law in the European Union

Religion, Politics and Law in the European Union PDF

Author: Lucian N. Leustean

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-09-13

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1317990803

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EU enlargement - to countries in Central and Eastern Europe in 2004, the inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, and increasing debates on Turkey’s membership - has dramatically transformed the European Union into a multi-religious space. Religious communities are not only shaping identities but are also influential factors in political discourse. This edited volume examines the activities of religious actors in the context of supranational European institutions and the ways in which they have responded to the idea of Europe at local and international levels. By bringing together scholars working in political science, history, law and sociology, this volume analyses key religious factors in contemporary EU architecture, such as the transformation of religious identities, the role of political and religious leaders, EU legislation on religion, and, the activities of religious lobbies. This book was published as a special issue of Religion, State and Society.

Religion in an Expanding Europe

Religion in an Expanding Europe PDF

Author: Timothy A. Byrnes

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2006-03-23

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 1139450948

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With political controversies raging over issues such as the wearing of headscarves in schools and the mention of Christianity in the European Constitution, religious issues are of growing importance in European politics. In this volume, Byrnes and Katzenstein analyze the effect that enlargement to countries with different and stronger religious traditions may have on the EU as a whole, and in particular on its homogeneity and assumed secular nature. Looking through the lens of the transnational religious communities of Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Islam, they argue that religious factors are stumbling blocks rather than stepping stones toward the further integration of Europe. All three religious traditions are advancing notions of European identity and European union that differ substantially from how the European integration process is generally understood by political leaders and scholars. This volume makes an important addition to the fields of European politics, political sociology, and the sociology of religion.

God and the EU

God and the EU PDF

Author: Jonathan Chaplin

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-12-14

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 131743921X

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The current political, economic and financial crises facing the EU reveal a deeper cultural, indeed spiritual, malaise – a crisis in ‘the soul of Europe’. Many observers are concluding that the ‘soul of Europe’ cannot be restored to health without a new appreciation of the contribution of religion to its past and future, and especially that of its hugely important but widely neglected Christian heritage, which is alive today even amidst advancing European secularization. This book offers a fresh, constructive and critical understanding of Christian contributions to the origin and development of the EU from a variety of theological and national perspectives. It explains the Christian origins of the EU, documents the various ways in which it has been both affirmed and critiqued from diverse theological perspectives, offers expert, theologically-informed assessments of four illustrative policy areas of the EU (trade, finance, environment, science), and also reports on the place of religion in the EU, including how religious freedom is framed and how contemporary religious (including Muslim) actors relate to EU institutions and vice versa. The book fills a major gap in the current debate about the future of the European project and will be of interest to students and scholars of religion, politics and European studies.

Religion and Politics in the European Union

Religion and Politics in the European Union PDF

Author: François Foret

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2015-02-05

Total Pages: 339

ISBN-13: 1107082714

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This book analyzes the place and influence of religion in European politics. François Foret presents the first data ever collected on the religious beliefs of European decision makers and what they do with these beliefs. Discussing popular assumptions such as the return of religion, aggressive European secularism, and religious lobbying, Foret offers objective data and non-normative conceptual frameworks to clarify some major issues in the contemporary political debate.

Religion and the Public Order of the European Union

Religion and the Public Order of the European Union PDF

Author: Ronan McCrea

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2010-10-07

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 0199595356

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Ronan McCrea offers the first comprehensive account of the role of religion within the public order of the European Union. He examines the facilitation and protection of individual and institutional religious freedom in EU law and the means through which the Union facilitates religious input and influence over law. In addition, the book draws attention to the limitations on religious influence over law and politics that are required by the Union. It shows the extent to which suchlimitations are identified as fundamental elements of the EU's public order and as prerequisites for membership.The Union seeks to balance its predominantly Christian religious heritage with an equally strong secular and humanist tradition by facilitating religion as a form of cultural identity while simultaneously limiting its political influence. Such balancing takes place in the context of the Union's limited legitimacy and its commitment to respect for Member State cultural autonomy. Deference towards the cultural role of religion at Member State level enables culturally-entrenched religions toexercise a greater degree of influence within the Union's public order than "outsider" faiths that lack a comparable cultural role. Placing the Union's approach to religion in the context of broader historical and sociological trends around religion in Europe and of contemporary debates aroundsecularism, equal treatment, and the role of Islam in Europe, McCrea sheds light on the interaction between religion and EU law in the face of a shifting religious demographic.

Church, State, and Democracy in Expanding Europe

Church, State, and Democracy in Expanding Europe PDF

Author: Lavinia Stan

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2011-09-22

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 0195337107

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Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu examine the relationship between religion and politics in ten former communist Eastern European countries, showing church-state relations in the new EU member states through study of political representation for church leaders, governmental subsidies, registration of religions by the state, and religious instruction in public schools.

The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Europe

The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Europe PDF

Author: Grace Davie

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 871

ISBN-13: 0198834268

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This authoritative collection offers a detailed overview of religious ideas, structures, and institutions in the making of Europe. Written by leading scholars in the field, it demonstrates the enduring presence of lived and institutionalised religion in the social networks of identity, policy, and power over two millennia of European history.

The European Union and the Catholic Church

The European Union and the Catholic Church PDF

Author: P. Kratochvíl

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-07-06

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 1137453788

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As the first comprehensive monograph on the relations between the Catholic Church and the European Union, this book contains both a detailed historical overview of the political ties between the two complex institutions and a theoretical analysis of their normative orders and mutual interactions.