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An introduction to ‘Religion in the European Parliament: between nation and Europe’
By François Foret
ABSTRACT
This contribution introduces a collection that presents selected findings of the second wave of the project ‘Religion in the European Parliament and in European multilevel governance’ (RelEP2) pursued during the term 2019–2024, after a first wave in 2009–2014 (RelEP1). This new research was necessary for at least two reasons leading to an apparent paradox: first, the ongoing secularisation of European societies which has increasingly questioned the relevance of religion as a political factor; and, second, the politicisation of religion as a discursive resource in a polycrisis Europe, both at national and supranational levels. The contribution first frames the objectives and modalities of the project survey, which investigates what members of the European Parliament (MEPs) believe and what they do with these beliefs. It then compares the contexts and outcomes of the two waves of the survey. The next sections relate together the two dimensions of the collective research: religion within the European Parliament (EP) on the one hand; and religion at the juncture of nation and Europe on the other hand. They summarise how this collection contributes to our understanding of religion in European politics, and the future research avenues it identifies.