Religion and European Integration: Predominant Themes and Emerging Research Priorities

Abstract

Even before the controversy over the Invocatio Dei, proposed for inclusion in the preamble to the European Union’s defunct Draft Constitution, the role of religion in European integration had moved toward the centre of political consciousness. As early as 1992 the then European Commission President, Jacques Delors, had stated that ‘If in the next twenty years we have not given a soul to Europe, given it spirituality and meaning, then the game will be up’.1 Throughout the remainder of his tenure, and beyond it, corporate religion was given an increasingly prominent role in strategic and affective considerations of further European integration. This new role for religious associations has now been incorporated into the recently ratified Lisbon Treaty, where ‘open, transparent and regular dialogue’ has been formally established. The article will consider the question of European integration and the role of ‘public’ religion within this by disentangling two predominating thematic approaches, and thereafter discussing their inter‐ (and intra‐) thematic tensions along with the potential avenues that they offer for future research.

The European Union and the Catholic Church

“…However, a number of studies cannot be explicitly related to just one discipline since many are located at the crossroads of sociology, religious studies, political philosophy, or cultural history (e.g. Nelsen 2005;Casanova 2006;Houston 2011b). The contributions of (mainly Catholic) theology should not be underestimated either -this pertains to both purely theological texts (Massignon 2007;Turner 2012b) and to the publications which present the public attitudes of the churches regarding specific EU policies (see, for instance, the many documents published by the Conference of European Churches or by the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Communities).…”

The Problem of Correlationship Between European Principles of Law and Chistian Values in the Context of Current Challenges

“…For them, the European idea must be in line with Christi-anity. In this regard, Kenneth Houston points out that even before the controversy over the Invocatio Dei, proposed for inclusion in the preamble to the European Union's defunct Draft Constitution, the role of religion in European integration had moved toward the centre of political consciousness [6]. However, the signatories of the document contrary to the recommendations of the clerics refused to include the provisions on Christian values as the basis of European integration, although they mentioned the significance of religion as a whole.…”

“…Those who really care about the future of the European Union should remember the Jacques Delors's prophecy, which in 1992 declared that "if in the next twenty years we will not give our soul to Europe, taking into account its spirituality and meaning, then the game will be lost". According to K. Houston, during the decade of J. Delors's tenure as European Commission President (1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995), the involvement of religion played a more prominent role in strategic and affective considerations for further European integration [6]. The basic documents developed under his leadership allowed the European communities to transform into the European Union.…”