A Christian or a Laic Europe? Moving Beyond a False Dichotomy « Romanian Journal of Political Science

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A Christian or a Laic Europe? Moving Beyond a False Dichotomy

by Camil Ungureanu,

In order to assess the debate concerning the constitutional recognition of Christianity in Europe, we need to pose the more general question of the role (if any) of the symbolic function of the modern democratic constitution in relation to religion. In the present paper, we differentiate between three stylized understandings of constitutionmaking, namely communitarian, liberal and discursive. Our argument is that the discursive “model” of the symbolic function of the constitution combines the merits and avoids the demerits of communitarianism and liberalism.

published in Vol 6 - No 2 - 2006 // Religion As Political Identity

Vol 6 - No 2 - 2006 // Religion As Political Identity

ABSTRACT

Religion As Political Identity

The papers in this issue are mostly confined to the European area. Even in Europe, the heartland of secularism, the rise of political Islam and of nationalist Orthodoxy in postcommunist countries challenges the classic secular model. The picture that emerges from these papers is still blurred and ambiguous, but so is the reality at the... »

FOCUS

The Chance for Civil Society in Central Asia or The Role of Islamic Movements in Shaping Political Modernity

The aim of this paper is to analyze the theoretical and practical underpinnings for a potentially beneficial role that religion can play in strengthening counter-authoritarian groups and civil society in Central Asian states. Both fundamentalist and moderate standings on compatibility between religious practices, key Islamic sources, and pluralism are assessed. The present political situation in... »

The Consent of State and The Blessing of Church: A Case study on The New Bulgarian Dominations Act

This paper is an attempt to reveal how the law-making process confronts new problems that arise in the search for pragmatic solutions to state-church relations. The specific case study used is the Denominations Act, adopted by the Bulgarian National Assembly on December 20, 2002, which serves as an example of a meeting ground for secular... »

Secularism in Republic of Moldova – Politics of Religion or Religious Politics: Where Do We Draw the Boundaries?

This paper focuses on the relationship between church and state in the Republic of Moldova, and particularly on the increasingly-blurred boundaries between the two. Given the fact that the ruling party is Communist, it seems even more inconceivable that a “union” between state and church could even be possible. The research presented here answers what... »

Charity or Tolerance? Debating Moralities in The Educational System of Contemporary Serbia

After regime change in 2000, the Serbian Ministry of Education introduced two new subjects in the schools: civic education and religious education. Representatives of local civil society associated the establishment of religious education in schools with a rise in nationalism and a split of the society into “believers” and “citizens”. Representatives of the church, on... »

Church – State Relations in Post-Communist Romania. Real Deprivatization or The Way Back to Byzantine Symphonia?

This paper starts from the belief that the realities of post-communist world, including the relations between Church and State, should benefit from an appropriate theoretical delineation, which is currently missing. This is more relevant if one bears in mind the relevance of Orthodox Church in Romania due to its high legitimacy among Romanian population, in... »

A Christian or a Laic Europe? Moving Beyond a False Dichotomy

Some Reflections on Religion and Multiculturalism in Romania: Towards a Reappraisal of The Grammar of Traditions

This paper discusses the potential of the Christian tradition in Romania to offer a constructive answer to the contemporary dilemmas of multiculturalism. However, for this to happen there is a significant need for a fresh re-reading of this tradition. The starting point of my work will be an overview of the data on the question... »

PAPERS

Brusselian as Newspeak. The EU’s Public Discourse on Enlargement and The Constitutional Treaty

Problems of European integration and governance are increasingly analysed from a discursive perspective. This article seeks to examine the reasons behind the increasing distance between Europe/European Union and its citizens by taking a discourse and content analysis approach. It argues that the current situation is due to a “communication deficit” as a result of a... »

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International
Advisory Board

Alina Mungiu-Pippidi (chair) Hertie School of Governance
Larry Diamond Stanford University
Tom Gallagher University of Bradford
Alena Ledeneva University College London
Michael McFaul Stanford University
Dennis Deletant Georgetown University
Helen Wallace London School of Economics and Political Science

Editorial Board

Claudiu Tufiș
Bogdan Iancu
George Jiglau
Ingi Iusmen
Gabriel Bădescu
Andrei Macsut
Laura Voinea

Published by:

A Christian or a Laic Europe? Moving Beyond a False Dichotomy

Indexed in:

International Advisory Board

Editorial Board

Published by:

International
Advisory Board