Religion between Nation and Europe

The French and Belgian ‘No’ to the Christian Heritage of Europe

Bibliographic Data

ID8041980
AuthorsFrançois Foret (0000-0002-7129-5462), Virginie Riva
Year2010
Volume33
Issue4
Pages791-809
Publication date2010-06-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWest European Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0140-2382 • E-ISSN: 1743-9655
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01402381003794621
OpenAlexW1967282427
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited11

Religion has new salience in contemporary European politics, but its range and nature are still not properly understood. In contrast with most other member states, France and Belgium held a common position of refusal regarding any reference to the Christian heritage of Europe in the now defunct Constitutional Treaty. The two countries were however motivated by two different models of laïcité anchored in distinct socio-political historical paths: the French all-encompassing laïcité, supposing the neutrality of the public space; and the Belgian institutionalised laïcité, organising the pluralism of philosophical and confessional worldviews. The analysis addresses the dynamics of each national configuration in the wider perspective of the interactions between religion and politics today; the patterns of European negotiations; the effects of this issue on domestic politics and mobilisations of civil society. It concludes that religion in the integration process is a way of reformulating old symbolic resources and of coming to terms with identity and social adaptations, rather than a source of political cleavages

Confessional · Epistemology · Negotiation · Neutrality · Pluralism (philosophy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Pragmatism · Sociology · Treaty · Law · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious Education and Schools

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