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Religion, European Elections and EU politics. A Resilient Second-Order Factor for a Second-Order Polity?

par Foret, François ;Mondo, Emilie
Référence L'Europe en formation, 390, page (33-50)
Publication Publié, 2020-06-01

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Résumé :

The purpose of this article is to make sense of the resurgence of religion on the political agenda of a secularizing Europe. Here, the focus is placed on the European Union (EU). The religious factor is considered alternatively as an influence on political attitudes and behaviours; as an ideological and party component; and as a controversial policy stake. Thus, we analyse the effects of the religious factor in past European elections as an element framing the perception of European integration and the vote. We then document the crisis affecting the Christian-Democratic family incarnated by the European People’s Party (EPP) and competing narratives on religion aimed at claiming leadership in the redefining the core ideology and boundaries of this political family. Two cases studies are developed: The ‘Hungarian crisis’ and identity politics promoted by Viktor Orban; and the Spitzenkandidaten process to select the EPP candidate running for the presidency of the European Commission. We finally study the treatment of religion as a policy issue within the European Parliament (EP) and discuss its potential to become a bone of contention in the 2019-2024 legislature.