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Religion and European Integration: Predominant Themes and Emerging Research Priorities
Author(s) -
Houston Kenneth
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
religion compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.113
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 1749-8171
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-8171.2011.00291.x
Subject(s) - european union , european integration , preamble , political science , politics , spirituality , meaning (existential) , inclusion (mineral) , treaty , constitution , public administration , maastricht treaty , soul , law , sociology , social science , psychology , epistemology , medicine , channel (broadcasting) , philosophy , alternative medicine , pathology , electrical engineering , business , economic policy , engineering , psychotherapist
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.