Religion and the Public Order of the European Union

This book offers a comprehensive account of the role of religion within the public order of the European Union. It examines the facilitation and protection of individual and institutional religious freedom in EU law and the means through which the Union facilitates religious input and influence over law. In addition, the book identifies the limitations on religious influence over law and politics that have been identified by the Union as fundamental elements of its public order and prerequisites to EU membership. It demonstrates that the Union seeks to balance its predominantly Christian religious heritage with an equally strong secular and humanist movement by facilitating religion as a form of cultural identity while limiting its political influence. Such balancing takes place in the context of the Union's limited legitimacy and its commitment to respect for Member State cultural autonomy. Deference towards the cultural role of religion at Member State level enables culturally-entrenched religions to exercise a greater degree of influence within the Union's public order than ‘outsider’ faiths that lack a comparable cultural role. The book places the Union's approach to religion in the context of broader historical and sociological trends around religion in Europe and of contemporary debates around secularism, equal treatment, and the role of Islam in Europe.