Once the heart of Christendom, Europe now is increasingly a secularist culture. While many states retain Christian symbols on their flags and official sports team uniforms, and references to Christian beliefs remain in some constitutions, many Europeans are leaving the religion. Earlier this decade, in considering the ratification of a European constitution (an effort that ultimately failed), the EU omitted from the preamble any historical reference to Europe’s Christian roots, though it duly noted its ancient Greek and Roman heritage.
Recently, the question of European identity has been brought into sharp focus over issues of Muslim immigration and integration. This fall, German Chancellor Angela Merkel asserted that the “multikulti” concept where people would “live side-by-side” happily was not working, and immigrants needed to do more to integrate. This followed initiatives to ban some symbols of Islam, such as minarets in Switzerland and burkas in France, as well as gains at the polls by anti-immigration parties throughout the Continent. How necessary to European identity is its Christian heritage? Do these developments indicate a trend toward reclaiming Europe’s Christian identity? How might Christianity be relevant to Europe’s future?
Marcello Pera, an Italian philosopher, Senator, and former President of the Italian Senate, is a Visiting Fellow at Hudson Institute. At Hudson, he is writing a book entitled Science and Religion, Politics and Faith: On the Origins and Foundations of Secularism. This volume follows his 2008 book, Perchè dobbiamo dirci cristiani: Il liberalismo, l’Europa, l’etica (Why We Should Call Ourselves Christians: Liberalism, Europe, and Ethics), which includes an introduction by Pope Benedict XVI.
George Weigel is a Distinguished Senior Fellow and William E. Simon Chair in Catholic Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He is a Catholic theologian and one of America’s leading public intellectuals. Weigel’s most recent book is The End and the Beginning: Pope John Paul II The Victory of Freedom, the Last Years, the Legacy, which chronicles John Paul’s decades-long struggle with communism and recounts the tumultuous last years of John Paul’s life.
Hudson Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Religious Freedom Nina Shea will introduce and moderate the event.
This event will be streamed live on Hudson’s website: www.hudson.org/WatchLive.
Please RSVP to events@hudson.org with “Europe” in the subject line.
Betsy and Walter Stern Conference Center
Hudson Institute
1015 15th Street, NW
Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20005
