RT Article
T1 Religion in the narratives of Polish members of the European Parliament – politicising European integration?
JF Religion, state & society
VO 51
IS 4/5
SP 434
OP 451
A1 Góra, Magdalena
A1 Zielińska, Katarzyna
LA English
PB Routledge
YR 2023
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1876261005
AB The contribution investigates the role of religion in the work and attitudes of Polish members of the European Parliament (MEPs). It draws on two types of data: the results of the Polish part of the survey on Religion in the European Parliament and in European multilevel governance II (RelEP2) and qualitative content analysis of Polish MEPs’ speeches from the first part of the European Parliament’s ninth term of office (July 2019–June 2021). The analysis of the MEPs’ plenary speeches reveals the pivotal role religion plays in articulating the main national political divide between sovereignists and Europeanists over attitudes to European integration. Religion, treated primarily as a cultural resource and identity marker, has become instrumental for the process of politicisation of EU integration at the supranational level – mirroring processes on the domestic level – pursued especially by MEPs representing right-wing orientations. The analysis of the survey results demonstrates that Catholicism constitutes an important element of many Polish MEPs’ individual value systems and identities. However, this translates into an ambivalent perception of the role of religion in the context of the public sphere.
K1 Polish members of the European Parliament
K1 European Parliament
K1 Religion
DO 10.1080/09637494.2023.2273063