Full Description
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.
Contents
1. Religion, Politics and Law in the European Union: An Introduction Lucian N. Leustean and John T. S. Madeley Religious Identity and the European Union 2. European Integration, Laicite and Religion Jean-Paul Willaime 3. Religion: A Solution or a Problem for the Legitimisation of the European Union? Francois Foret 4. A European Battlefield: Does the EU Have a Soul? Is Religion In or Out of Place in the European Union? Carin Laudrup 5. From Hammer and Sickle to Star and Crescent: The Question of Religion for European Identity and a Political Europe Benoit Challand 6. European Enlargement, Secularisation and Religious Re-publicisation in Central and Eastern Europe David Herbert and Max Fras Religious and Political Leaders in the Construction of the European Union 7. Cracks in a Facade of Unity: The French and Italian Christian Democrats and the Launch of the European Integration Process, 1945-1957 Linda Risso 8. Alcide De Gasperi and Antonio Messineo: A Spiritual Idea of Politics and a Pragmatic Idea of Religion? Guilio Venneri and Paolo O. Ferrara 9. Papal Thought on Europe and the European Union in the Twentieth Century Blandine Chelini-Pont 10. Religion and Law in the European Union Towards a 'Common Law' on Religion in the European Union Norman Doe 11. Voices in the Wilderness: The Established Church of England and the European Union Mark Hill Religious Lobbies in the European Union 12. Religious Lobbies in the European Union: From Dominant Church to Faith-Based Organisation? Martin Steven 13. The European Union and the New Religious Movements Sabrina Pastorelli 14. The Logic of Structured Dialogue between Religious Associations and the Institutions of the European Union Kenneth Houston
