REM Project
Religious issues take a prominent place in contemporary European politics. This is noticeable both in current discussions in different countries and at the level of EU politics. The Italian Commissioner candidate Buttiglione’s views of gay marriage and single mothers created an outrage in the European Parliament. The row over the explicit mentioning of Christianity in the pre-amble of the EU Constitutional Treaty and the dispute in July 2006 over EU funding for scientific research driven by Catholic concerns about stem cell research also bear witness to the central role that religion plays. In terms of party politics, one of the most important and lasting political cleavages in many European countries is the religious-secular divide. In some European countries Christian democratic parties exist for more than a century, and despite secularizing trends, these parties are still among the most powerful party families in Europe, and they form the largest group in the European Parliament.
The relationship between Euroskepticism and religious attitudes and behavior is explored in a time in which all established democracies are characterized by the media playing a central role in the relationship between politics and citizens. Also for the investigation of religion and its relationship to Euroskepticism the media are center stage. The project posits that with many individuals (in particular in North Western Europe) having few direct and personal religious ties and most other individuals being exposed to a single religious context, perceptions of (other) religions and religious groups are largely mediated by representations in the media. At the same time, the European integration process to most citizens is also one that is mostly conveyed to them by media (see for example De Vreese & Boomgaarden, 2006).
This collaborative cross-nationally comparative research proposal is located in the intersection between religion, Euroskepticism, and the media. We will from now on refer to it by its acronym REM.
