"Religious Culture and European Integration: Theory and Hypotheses"

Nelsen, Brent F. and Guth, James L. (2003) "Religious Culture and European Integration: Theory and Hypotheses". In: UNSPECIFIED, Nashville, Tennessee. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Theories of European integration do not adequately account for the role of culture in the shaping of the integration process. This paper develops a cultural theory of European integration drawing heavily on the works of Karl W. Deutsch, Alexis de Tocqueville, Max Weber and Michael Walzer. Deutsch alerts us to the need for a sense of community among integrating states. Tocqueville, Weber and Walzer suggest that 1) the keys to the present are found in the distant past, 2) religious ideas shape thought and action, 3) religion continues to shape culture long after religious zeal, or even belief fades, 4) cultures vary over time, between countries and within countries, and 5) culture is not the only variable that matters. We employ this methodology to derive propositions and testable hypotheses that help explain the religious divide in the European Union.

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