Morality Politics in Western Europe: Parties, Agendas and Policy Choices (Comparative Studies of Political Agendas)

Why do some countries have 'Culture Wars' over morality issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage while other countries hardly experience any conflict? This book argues that morality issues only generate major conflicts in political systems with a significant conflict between religious and secular parties. Why do some countries have 'Culture Wars' over morality issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage while other countries hardly experience any conflict at all? This book argues that morality issues only generate major conflicts in political systems with a significant conflict between religious and secular parties, because this is required for these issues to become part of party competition. Conversely, morality issues get almost no attention in political systems where religion has disappeared from the party system and where no political actors see any interest in promoting a strongly secular platform. The comparative dynamic of morality politics is analyzed through detailed case studies of five morality issues (abortion, same-sex marriage, assisted reproduction, stem cell research and euthanasia) in the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Denmark and the United States "Pathbreaking in its theoretical insight and scope of coverage, Morality Politics in Western Europe solves the puzzle of how and where moral conflicts arise in a secularized Europe ... This original contribution is essential reading for all scholars and students of public policy, comparative studies, and religion and politics."--Raymond Tatalovich, Professor of Political Science, Loyola University, Chicago, USA 'Theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich, the studies collected in this book explain the puzzling fact of why in some countries morality issues become politically explosive, while in others they sometimes do not even reach the political agenda. This is a well-written, authoritative and easily accessible contribution to our comparative understanding of what provokes and what dampens conflict around morality issues.' - Kees van Kersbergen, Professor of Political Science, Aarhus University, Denmark 'Morality Politics in Western Europe is a breakthrough piece of scholarship. These scholars are the first to explore systematically the causes and effects of morality-based policy issues outside the US ... The work is truly comparative in the best sense, revealing what has heretofore been largely ignored by political scientists-that while morality issues in Europe constitute perhaps a small proportion of the overall public agenda, they - play an outsized role in defining politics there.' - Christopher Mooney, Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Illinois at Springfield, USA 'Pathbreaking in its theoretical insight and scope of coverage, Morality Politics in Western Europe solves the puzzle of how and where moral conflicts arise in a secularized Europe... This original contribution is essential reading for all scholars and students of public policy, comparative studies, and religion and politics.' - Raymond Tatalovich, Professor of Political Science, Loyola University, Chicago, USA 'Theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich, the studies collected in this book explain the puzzling fact of why in some countries morality issues become politically explosive, while in others they sometimes do not even reach the political agenda. This is a well-written, authoritative and easily accessible contribution to our comparative understanding of what provokes and what dampens conflict around morality issues.' - Kees van Kersbergen, Professor of Political Science, Aarhus University, Denmark 'Morality Politics in Western Europe is a breakthrough piece of scholarship. These scholars are the first to explore systematically the causes and effects of morality-based policy issues outside the US... The work is truly comparative in the best sense, revealing what has heretofore been largely ignored by political scientists-that while morality issues in Europe constitute perhaps a small proportion of the overall public agenda, they - play an outsized role in defining politics there.' - Christopher Mooney, Professor in the Department of Political Science, University of Illinois at Springfield, USA Why do some countries have 'Culture Wars' over morality issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage while other countries hardly experience any conflict at all? This book argues that morality issues only generate major conflicts in political systems with a significant conflict between religious and secular parties, because this is required for these issues to become part of party competition. Conversely, morality issues get almost no attention in political systems where religion has disappeared from the party system and where no political actors see any interest in promoting a strongly secular platform. The comparative dynamic of morality politics is analyzed through detailed case studies of five morality issues (abortion, same-sex marriage, assisted reproduction, stem cell research and euthanasia) in the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Denmark and the United States. -- Back cover Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction....Pages 1-4 Theoretical Perspectives on Morality Issues....Pages 5-26 How to Study the Two Worlds of Morality Politics....Pages 27-34 Morality Issues in the Netherlands: Coalition Politics under Pressure....Pages 35-61 From Prohibition to Permissiveness: A Two-Wave Change on Morality Issues in Spain....Pages 62-87 Morality Politics in Switzerland: Politicization through Direct Democracy....Pages 88-113 Morality Politics in the United Kingdom: Trapped between Left and Right....Pages 114-136 Morality Issues in Denmark: Policies Without Politics....Pages 137-160 The USA and Western Europe Compared: How the ‘God Gap’ Led the USA to Join the Religious World of Morality Politics....Pages 161-184 The Two Worlds of Morality Politics — What Have We Learned?....Pages 185-199 Back Matter....Pages 200-216