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Church-EU Dialogue under Article 17.3: Consensus-Seeking Instrument or Power Strategy?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2013

Kenneth Houston
Kenneth Houston*
Affiliation:
Webster University Thailand
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Kenneth Houston, Webster University Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand. E-mail: houstonkb@webster.ac.th; achouston09@yahoo.ie
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Abstract

In 2005, the European Commission formally inaugurated a “structured dialogue” between European institutions and major faith traditions and non-confessional bodies in Europe. The provision for dialogue was envisaged ostensibly as a mechanism to include religious and non-confessional perspectives in the ongoing construction of the wider European project. The language of “dialogue,” consensus-seeking, and mutual learning dominates both religious and political justification for this formalized provision. Analysis considers emerging praxis in the intervening period (2005–2010) to determine the extent to which consensus-seeking has prevailed over the role of power and interests. Findings indicate that a number of elements relative to the configuration of dialogue praxis have severely inhibited the communicative potential of the provision enshrined in Article 17.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 148 - 176
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2013 

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