The right and religion in European Union politics: from ‘confessionalism’ to ‘conservatism’

The intimate relationship between religion and parties of the right in European politics has been well documented in political science, encompassing both the long-standing partnership between the church and Christian Democrats as well as the more recent adoption of Christian identity and symbolism b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religion, state & society
Subtitles:Religion in the European Parliament: between nation and Europe
Main Author: Steven, Martin (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge 2023
In: Religion, state & society
Year: 2023, Volume: 51, Issue: 4/5, Pages: 331-344
Further subjects:B Conservatism
B Euro-realism
B European Parliament
B Party Politics
B Christianity
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:The intimate relationship between religion and parties of the right in European politics has been well documented in political science, encompassing both the long-standing partnership between the church and Christian Democrats as well as the more recent adoption of Christian identity and symbolism by radical ‘right-wing’ parties. Yet in this contribution, it will be argued that in the 2019–2024 session of the European Parliament (EP), it is a third right-of-centre group that has now emerged as the clearest proponents of the role of Christianity in the modern-day European Union (EU). The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), led by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from Poland’s Law and Justice Party (PiS), regularly and consistently advance the case for ‘freedom of religion’ and the positive role of churches as institutions in public affairs. While Christian Democrats have become secular, ‘catch-all’ peoples’ parties and ‘far-right’ politicians are criticised for exploiting tensions over multiculturalism, it is the European conservatives, with their ‘Euro-realist’ agenda, who now represent the most novel and intriguing aspect to the interface between religion and the right in EU party politics.
ISSN:1465-3974
Contains:Enthalten in: Religion, state & society
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/09637494.2023.2284690