Euroscepticism among Christian Churches: Between a Dream of the United Europe and Defense of Religious Values

The paper deals with the attitude of Christian Churches to the Euroscepticism. The author states that the Euroscepticism in the religious context is not equal to the primitive Fundamentalism (with xenophobia and intolerance elements), but could be described as a complex political phenomenon that supports the existence of European structures. The Catholic Church became a traditional base for rethinking of integration processes. The Catholic worldview is supported by state and semi-state Churches of the Western and Northern Europe, in the first hand, the Lutheran Churches of Germany and Scandinavian nations. They are allies of all European institutions because of their traditional loyal position towards authorities and their own liberal evolution. A decentralized structure of the European Orthodoxy determines the diversity of opinions and different impressions of the European future. The role of the Churches in the context of Brexit in the United Kingdom is analyzed particularly. Inside political clashes over the unity of Europe, the liberal Anglican Church and conservative Catholic Church are on one pole. On the opposite pole, there are the critics and enemies of the EU – the conservative Fundamentalists from the Evangelical Protestant Churches. The political spectrum of Christian worldviews is represented in the majority of European countries. The main components of the Christian Euroscepticism are: the defense of evangelical values rooted in the Bible (that unites Orthodox Christians, Catholics, conservative Protestants-Evangelicals); promotion of the Christian legacy of Europe (that unites Orthodox Christians, Catholics, Lutherans, less Evangelicals); preserving of a national peculiarity against infringements of a liberal bureaucracy (that unites Orthodox Christians, less Catholics).

Keywords

Euroscepticism, European Union, Church-State relations, Christianity, religious institutes

Received

02.10.2018

Publication date

02.10.2018

Number of characters

828

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GOST	Lunkin R. Euroscepticism among Christian Churches: Between a Dream of the “United Europe” and Defense of Religious Values // Mirovaia ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia – 2018. – V. 62. – Issue 8 C. 35-43 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/meimo/s207987840000537-9-1-en (circulation date: 25.04.2024). DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2018-62-8-35-43
MLA	Lunkin, Roman N "Euroscepticism among Christian Churches: Between a Dream of the “United Europe” and Defense of Religious Values." Mirovaia ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia 62.8 (2018):35-43. DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2018-62-8-35-43
APA	Lunkin R. (2018). Euroscepticism among Christian Churches: Between a Dream of the “United Europe” and Defense of Religious Values. Mirovaia ekonomika i mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia 62(8), pp.35-43 DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2018-62-8-35-43

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