Consulting and compromising: the (non-)religious policy preferences of British MEPs

The UK provides an important case study when analysing the influence of religious attitudes and values on political behaviour in the European Union. Our research shows British members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to be relatively at ease working with the different faith-based organisations (FBO...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Steven, Martin (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge 2014
In: Religion, state & society
Year: 2014, Volume: 42, Issue: 2/3, Pages: 180-195
Further subjects:B Public Policy
B European Union
B Interest groups
B Political Parties
B United Kingdom
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:The UK provides an important case study when analysing the influence of religious attitudes and values on political behaviour in the European Union. Our research shows British members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to be relatively at ease working with the different faith-based organisations (FBOs) which seek to influence the European policy process - and much more so than many of their colleagues from other member-states. This can potentially be explained by the more ‘pluralist’ political culture which is prevalent in the UK, and can also be related to the comparatively high rates of non-church attendance among the British sample which facilitates their even-handedness towards different groups. This, in turn, produces a resistance to allowing religious factors to disproportionately influence European policymaking.
ISSN:1465-3974
Contains:Enthalten in: Religion, state & society
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/09637494.2014.933693