Religions, secularity and democracy in Europe: for a new Kelsenian pact

Alessandro Ferrari

No 3, Jean Monnet Working Papers from Jean Monnet Chair

Abstract: Abstract: In Europe the public role of the religions appears to be directly proportional to the fall in trust in the procedural mechanisms at the basis of the liberal democracies. Compared to the strong identities attributed to the United States and to the Islamic world Europe is accused of having a weak identity, the fruit of its prescriptive relativism. In this context God returns onto the scene. Nevertheless, a European civil religion risks becoming an instrument of closure of the system rather than responding to the challenges of pluralist societies and it could become a further factor of secularisation of society.

Keywords: christian democracy; civil society; deliberative democracy; democracy; democratization; democratization; diversity/homogeneity; European identity; European public space; governance; ideas; identity; interest intermediation; interest representation; lobbying; minorities; Nation-state; participation; pluralism; public opinion; social democracy; EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; subsidiarity; Amsterdam Treaty; Constitution for Europe; France; Germany; Italy; history; political science; sociology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005-06-27
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