Religion in an Expanding Europe

Professor Byrnes is Professor of Political Science at Colgate University. He is the author of Transnational Catholicism in Postcommunist Europe (2001) and Catholic Bishops in American Politics (1991). He is the co-editor of Abortion Politics in American States (1995) and The Catholic Church and the Politics of Abortion: A View from the States (1992). Professor Katzenstein is the Walter S. Carpenter, Jr. Professor of International Studies at Cornell University. He has written widely on issues of political economy and security in both Europe and Asia. He is the author of many books including most recently A World of Regions: Asia and Europe in the American Imperium (2005) and Beyond Japan: East Asian Regionalism (co-edited with Takashi Shiraishi, 2006).

With political controversies raging over issues such as the wearing of headscarves in schools and the mentioning of Christianity in the European Constitution, religious issues are of growing importance in contemporary European politics. Examining the intersection between European enlargement and the transnational religious communities of Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Islam, Byrnes and Katzenstein argue that religious factors are stumbling blocks rather than stepping stones toward the further integration of Europe. This is a fascinating collection of papers on an extremely important topic. It makes a valuable addition to the field.

1. Multiple modernities as limits to secular Europeanization? Peter J. Katzenstein; Part I. European Settings: 2. Faith, freedom, and federation: the role of religious ideas and institutions in European political convergence Daniel Philpott and Timothy Samuel Shah; 3. Religion, European secular identities, and European integration Jose Casanova; Part II. Catholicism: 4. The old church and the new Europe: charting the changes J. Bryan Hehir; 5. Thy will be done: the Catholic church and politics in Poland since 1989 Sabrina P. Ramet; Part III. Orthodoxy: 6. The way we were - and should be again? European orthodox churches and the 'idyllic past' Sabrina P. Ramet; 7. The politics of ambivalence: Europeanization and the Serbian orthodox church Vjekoslav Perica; Part IV. Islam: 8. Europeanizing Islam or the Islamization of Europe: political democracy vs. cultural difference Bassam Tibi; 9. Islam and Europeanization in Turkish-Muslim socio-political movements M. Hakan Yavuz; Part V. Conclusion: 10. Religion, European identity, and political contention in historical perspective Daniel Nexon; 11. Transnational religion and Europeanization Timothy A. Byrnes.