God and the EU: Retrieving the Christian Inspirations of the European Project (Routledge Studies in Religion and Politics)

The current political, economic and financial crises facing the EU reveal a deeper cultural, indeed spiritual, malaise – a crisis in ‘the soul of Europe’. Many observers are concluding that the EU cannot be restored to health without a new appreciation of the contribution of religion to its past and future, and especially that of its hugely important but widely neglected Christian heritage, which is alive today even amidst advancing European secularization.

God and the EU offers a fresh, constructive and critical understanding of Christian contributions to the origin and development of the EU from a variety of theological, national and political perspectives. It explains the Christian origins of the EU; documents the various ways in which it has been both affirmed and critiqued from diverse theological perspectives; offers expert, theologically-informed assessments of four illustrative policy areas of the EU (religion, finance, environment, science); and also reports on the place of religion in the EU, including how religious freedom is framed and how contemporary religious actors relate to EU institutions and vice versa.

This book fills a major gap in the current debate about the future of the European project and will be of interest to students and scholars of religion, politics and European studies.

Jonathan Chaplin is Director of Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics, Cambridge and member of the Divinity faculty, Cambridge University, UK.

Gary Wilton is Programme Director of Faith and International Affairs, Wilton Park-Executive Agency of FCO, and former Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the European Union.