The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics in Europe by Fokas, Effie; Giorgi, Alberta;

Short description:

The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics in Europe is an outstanding reference source to this engaging subject area. The relationships between religion and politics are recognised as central to our understanding of contemporary European life and are increasingly investigated from a variety of approaches and perspectives.

Long description:

The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics in Europe is an outstanding reference source to this engaging subject area. In response to certain religion-related political developments, including the terrorist attacks in echoing that of 9/11; the rise of the far right and populism linked to anti-Islamic rhetoric in the context of migration of Muslims into Europe; and a series of controversies to do with free speech and hate speech have led to a catalyst for a surge in interdisciplinary scholarship. The relationships between religion and politics are recognised as central to our understanding of contemporary European life and are increasingly investigated from a variety of approaches and perspectives. Comprising 31 chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into three parts:

• Theoretical Underpinnings and Methodological Perspectives


• Actors, Policies and Institutions


• Emerging Themes and Current Debates

Within these sections central issues, debates and problems to religion and politics are examined, including: migration, religion in the city, digital religion, environmentalism, humour, celebrity and leadership, activism, authority, citizenship, mediatization, secularism, judicialization, marketization, political economy, security, European parliament, human rights, party politics, populism, feminism, political violence, hate speech, bioethics, pandemics and health, cults, race, equality and inequality. The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics in Europe is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies and politics. The Handbook will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as cultural studies, media studies, anthropology and sociology.

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction  Part I: Theoretical Underpinnings and Methodological Perspectives  2. Multiple Secularities, Genealogies of Secularism, or Postsecularity? Theorizing Religion and Politics in and beyond Europe  3. Religious symbols and the rise of heritage religion  4. Illiberal Identity Politics and Culturalized Christianity. Commonalities and Differences in Europe  5. Mediatization, Religion and Politics  6. Judicialization of politics and judicialization of religion in the two major court systems in Europe  7. Religious markets, religious marketing, and individual religious choice in Europe  8. Religion and Human Rights: European Puzzles  9. Intersecting gender, religion, and politics: an overview and a research agenda  Part II: Actors, Policies and Institutions  10. Religion, security and European borders  11. The intersection of religion and politics in the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU  12. Religion and the European Court of Human Rights  13. Religion and party politics in Europe  14. Religion and religious minorities in public institutions  15. Religion and Civil Society in Europe  16. Religion and the economy in Europe  17. Atheism in Europe: Insights from the Pandemic  18. The EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief and the EU’s External Action:  A temporal assessment  Part III: Emerging Themes and Current Debates  19. Governing Religious Diversity in Europe  20. The governance of religion in contemporary Europe: temporalities, scales and socio-political factors  21. Religion and environmentalism  22. Femonationalism, Feminism and Religion  23. Gender, sexuality and ‘conservative movements’ in Europe: What are they? How to study them?  24. Faith and Violence: Revisiting the Intersection of Religion, Politics, and Terrorism in Europe  25. Morality Policies and Religion in Europe’s Multi-Level Space  26. Keeping an Eye on ‘The Cults’: The Politics of New Religious Movements in Post World-War II Europe  27. Religion, politics, and the pandemic  28. Populism and Religion in Europe  29. Islam, neoliberalism, and the making of sexual whiteness in Europe. The case of the Netherlands  30. Religion and Free Speech: The Law and Politics of Regulating Hate Speech and Blasphemy  31. Religious Actors and European Union Policies on Artificial Intelligence