Religion in the New Europe (Conditions of European Solidarity Volume II)

The articles in this volume deal with the role of Christianity in the definition of European identity. Europeans often identify advanced civilizations with secularity. But religion is very much alive in other fast developing countries of the world. In Europe, nevertheless, the organized churches very much wanted to stress the Christian character of European identity, and this engendered a lively protest focusing on the perceived threat to the secular European tradition. Also, Europe is facing its greatest cultural challenge in the demand of Turkey to be admitted as a member, and in the demand of many Muslims in Europe, often citizens of the countries in which they live, to be recognized in their difference and at the same time integrated in the European national and supranational institutions. These essays were written upon the invitation by the previous President of the European Union, Romano Prodi. The enlarged European Union faces the greatest challenge in its history. It seems that the older forces that animated European integration are no longer able to provide political cohesion. What can hold Europe together in the future? Does Europe's common culture offer a new source of energy? What moral concepts, what traditions, what goals are capable of bringing together the Union's inhabitants in a common democratic polity?Contributions of the present volume are centered around the question of how a truly European solidarity can be established in a Union full of diversities and inequalities. The book offers a unique transdisciplinary collection of essays and comments written by highly renowned international scholars, intellectuals and politicians. Contents......Page 6 Religion and European Integration......Page 7 Religion, European Secular Identities and European Integration......Page 29 Judeo-Christian Heritage and Secularisation......Page 49 The Role of Religion in Establishing Social Cohesion......Page 51 Integration and Fragmentation: Patterns of Religion in Europe......Page 70 Observations from America......Page 91 Muslims and Islam in Europe......Page 100 Muslims and European Multiculturalism......Page 102 Is Islam a Threat to Europe’s Multicultural Democracies?......Page 116 Islam, European Public Space and Civility......Page 127 Islam in Europe: Clash of Religions or Convergence of Religiosities?......Page 136 List of Contributors......Page 150 V. 1. What Holds Europe Together? -- V. 2. Religion In The New Europe. Edited By Krzysztof Michalski. Includes Bibliographical References. v. 1. What holds Europe together? The role of religion in the new Europe.