Representing Religion in the European Union: Does God Matter?

Religious actors are becoming part of the EU bureaucratic system, and their lobbying in the last decade has increased dramatically. This book explores the mechanism and impact of religious representation by examining relations between religious policy practitioners and politicians in the European Union from the Second World War until today. This book seeks to answer the following questions: How do (trans)national religious groups enter into contact with European institutions? What are the rationale and the mechanisms of religious representation in the European Union? How are religious values transposed into political strategies? What impact has relations between religious practitioners, technocrats and politicians on the construction of the European Union? Examining religious representation at the state, transnational and institutional levels, this volume demonstrates that religion is becoming an increasingly important element of the decision-making process. It provides a comprehensive analysis of religious representation I the European Union that will be of great interest to students and scholars of European politics, sociology of religion and international relations.