The European Union and Religion: The Supranational Meets the Supernatural

This book takes a multidisciplinary approach to explore why the EU increased its entanglement with religion while many Member States - particularly in Western Europe - were decreasing theirs. It explains the complex relationship between two parallel evolving socio-political phenomena - European integration and secularisation - by drawing from the disciplines of constitutional law, sociology of religion, political science, and International Relations. Qualitative evidence was obtained through interviews with officials of the EU Commission, Parliament and External Action Service working on religious engagement, as well as with the EU’s key religious partner organisations.

The author draws together evidence from these diverse sources to describe the EU’s sui generis religion-state model, distinct from Member State ones. The book shows the EU operates pragmatically, free of ideological or historical constraints, and positively views ethical contributions to its policies and laws from religion. The EU identifies as a community of values and seeks democratic legitimacy; it sees religions as carriers of values and sources of European identity, potentially aiding its state-building efforts. The book concludes by looking at what to expect of this engagement from the EU executive and legislature in the future.

The book will be of interest to researchers and academics working in the areas of Law and Religion, Philosophy of Law, Constitutional Law, Sociology of Religion, Political Science, International Relations and European Studies.

Fearghas O’Beara holds a doctorate in Social Sciences from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and currently serves as Head of the European Parliament Office in Ireland.