Religion and the European Union
The European Union, or E.U., has existed in its modern form since it was formed by the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993. Since then, fifteen countries have joined the E.U., increasing the number of member countries to 27. Countries must meet strict standards when applying for membership to the E.U., as there are many factors which determine whether their request for membership is approved or denied. Religion is not specified to be one of these factors, but even so it appears to be a detrimental factor in the acceptance of Turkey into the E.U. Turkey is 99.8 percent Muslim and has applied for admission into the E.U. (The World Factbook).
Religion plays a large role in the acceptance and denial of countries applying for E.U. membership. Turkey has been the applicant with the greatest amount of difference between its predominant religion and that of most E.U. countries. Turkey’s government claims to be secular, but works to spread the Alevi form of the Muslim faith in its country. Turkey’s legislature also manages Islam in its country. Turkey is far more supportive of a particular church than any country in the E.U. This creates a glaring schism between Turkey and the rest of the EU, providing even more reason not to accept Turkey as a member state. The endorsement of the Alevi form of Islam in turn causes those of other faiths to be discriminated against. Turkish school children must attend schools where they have taught Islam and laws restricting forms of Islam other than Alevi are in effect in some locations in Turkey (The Economist 14). The roadblocks that these factors place in the way of Turkey’s acceptance into the E.U. are clear. The discrimination against minorities could keep Turk...
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Julius Caesar, The Gallic War, trans. Carolyn Hammond (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), 181, 183-4, 188-89, 191-94, 241-42.
Religion commanded a central and varied role in European politics, society, culture, and thought, from the late 16th century to the Enlightenment.
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4. Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith. Caesar: Life of a Colossus. pp. 355 New Haven: Yale UP, 2006. Print.
Alvin B. Kernan. The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. Print.
2.Guglielmo Ferrero, Ancient Rome and Modern America: A Comparative Study of Morals and Manners, G. P. Putnam's Sons Publishing, New York, 1914. (pg. 130-143)
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...olutionist reforms proved permanent, and gave Turkey domestic peace and a measure of prosperity even in his lifetime. But Kemalism has also left Turkey with a divided identity - Europeanised but not quite European, alienated from the Islamic world but still a Muslim country.
Gradually, despite their many internal differences, the countries of Western Europe began to conceive of themselves as a single civilization, known as the West (Hall and Gieben 1992:289). The challenge from Islam was an important factor in shaping Europe and developing the idea of the West. Europe’s cultural identity was originally characterized by religion and civilisation, eventually, Europe developed a sharper geographical, political and economic definition; closer to the modern secular concept of the West (Hall and Gieb...
[1] Augustine. The City of God against the Pagans. Trans. R. W. Dyson. Cambridge, 1998.
Europe has a history of war and conflict that predates living memory and the idea of a united Europe is something that appears repeatedly in that history. Hitler, Napoleon, and the many Roman Emperors all sought a united Europe. Their quests although in many ways motivated by a horrifying desire for power sparked the minds of philosophers and other political thinkers to imagine Europe united in harmony and peace despite national differences. Today we have the European Union which is quite unique. After the horrors, bloodshed, and economic disaster of the twentieth century, in a desire for peace and harmony and economic and political prosperity twenty-seven states have limited their national sovereignty.2 With national interests and ambition still in mind these countries see the European Union and supranational governance and the benefits of peace and prosperity therein as something worthwhile. However, in the history of European integration there has been much conflict and Euroskepticism. Some see unity in diversity and diversity in unity as impossible, and the existence of differentiation in the EU as highly problematic. However, differentiation in the European Union’s integration process is not the hindrance it is often defined as, rather it creates further cooperation in Europe bringing the European Union closer to its objectives of peace, and economic and political growth, resulting in a more effective and efficient bureaucracy. Differentiation in the EU’s integration process has created more successful integration as it allows the nations who wish t...
precedent to go by for a woman to be in power. So Henry wanted to
The role of religion in politics is a topic that has long been argued, and has contributed to the start of wars, schisms (both political and religious), and other forms of inter and intra-state conflict. This topic, as a result of its checkered past, has become quite controversial, with many different viewpoints. One argument, put forth by many people throughout history, is that religion and the government should remain separate to avoid any conflicting interests. This view also typically suggests that there is one, or several, large and organized religions like the Roman Catholic Church, which would be able to use their “divine” authority to sway the politics of a given state by promising or threatening some form of godly approval or disapproval. By leveraging their divine power, individual figures within a religion, as well as the religion as a whole, could gain secular power for themselves, or over others. A second view, which was developed by many theologians through history, suggests that that without religion there would be a general lack of morality in the people and leaders of a given state, which would give way to poor political decisions that would not be in the interest of the people and perhaps even God (or the gods). This argument, however, does not address the fact that morality can exist without religion. In sociology, it is commonly accepted that social norms, which include morality, can result from any number of things. Religion, laws, or the basic desire of survival can all create these norms, so it suffices to say that as a society, our morals reflect our desire to live in relative peace through the creation of laws that serve to help us to survive. The argument of whether or not religion and politics should mix...