State and Church in the European Union

Gerhard Robbers (ed.)

In conjunction with the European Consortium for State and Church Research

Current publications

in German Baden-Baden: Nomos 2 ed. 2005, 641 p., 1. ed. 1995, 370 p.
in English Baden-Baden: Nomos 2. ed. 2005, 1. ed. 1995
in Italian Baden-Baden: Nomos 1. ed. 1995
in Spanish Baden-Baden: Nomos 1. ed. 1996
in French 2. ed. 2008 (only online available), Baden-Baden: Nomos 1. ed. 1997
in  Czech Praha: Academia 1. ed. 2001
in Hungarian Pápa: Pápai Református Teológiai Akadémia 1. ed. 2004
in Greek Athens - Thessaloniki: Ekdoseis Sakkoyla 2. ed. 2007
in Polish Kolonia Limited 2. ed. 2007
in Russian Moscow: Institut Evropy RAN 2. ed.  2009
in Georgian
Tblisi: Konrad Adenauer Foundation 2. ed. 2011, available online.
in Chinese
Law Press, China, 2. ed. 2015

State and Church in the European Union, second edition 2005

Preface

In its Constitution for Europe the European Union promises to guarantee religious freedom and non-discrimination, to respect religious diversity and to maintain a dialogue with churches, religious communities and non-confessional organisations. At the same time the Union will respect the status of these churches and organisations under Member State's law. The European Union has become aware of the importance of religion. The Union draws inspiration from the religious inheritance of Europe.

With the accession of several new Member States to the European Union, the Union is enriched by new experiences and different needs concerning religion. This is reflected in the progressive development of the civil ecclesiastical law of Member States.

The second edition of this book responds to these developments. It gives an account of the civil ecclesiastical law in all the Member States and in the European Union itself. The contributions follow a similar structure in order to facilitate the comparison between the various systems.

All contributions to the first edition have been updated.

Table of contents

  • Rik Torfs, State and Church in Belgium (p. 9-34)
  • Jiří Rajmund Tretera,  State and Church in the Czech Republic (p. 35-54)
  • Inger Dübeck,  State and Church in Denmark (p. 55-76)
  • Gerhard Robbers, State and Church in Germany (p. 77-94)
  • Merilin Kiviorg, State and Church in Estonia (p. 95-114)
  • Charalambos Papastathis, State and Church in Greece (p. 115-138)
  • Iván C. Ibán, State and Church in Spain (p. 139-155)
  • Brigitte Basdevant‑Gaudemet,  State and Church in France (p. 157-186)
  • James Casey, State and Church in Ireland (p. 187-208)
  • Silvio Ferrari,  State and Church in Italy (p. 209-230)
  • Achilles Emilianides, State and Church in Cyprus (p. 231-252)
  • Ringolds Balodis,  State and Church in Latvia (p. 253-280)
  • Jolanta Kuznecoviene, State and Church in Lithuania (p. 283-303)
  • Alexis Pauly, State and Church in Luxembourg (p. 305-322)
  • Balázs Schanda, State and Church in Hungary (p. 323-345)
  • Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, State and Church in Malta (p. 347-365)
  • Sophie C. van Bijsterveld, State and Church in the Netherlands (p. 367-390)
  • Richard Potz, State and Church in Austria (p. 391-418)
  • Michał Rynkowski, State and Church in Poland (p. 419-438)
  • Vitalino Canas, State and Church in Portugal (p. 439-467)
  • Lovro Šturm, State and Church in Slovenia (p. 469-490)
  • Michaela Moravčíková, State and Church in the Slovak Republic (p. 491-518)
  • Markku Heikkilä, Jyrki Knuutila, Martin Scheinin, State and Church in Finland (p. 519-536)
  • Lars Friedner, State and Church in Sweden (p. 537-551)
  • David McClean, State and Church in the United Kingdom (p. 553-575)
  • Gerhard Robbers, State and Church in the European Union (p. 577-589)

State and Church in the European Union, third edition 2019

Preface

Freedom of religion has become a foremost issue and a major challenge in the European Union during recent years. Immigration contributes to the rise of Islam, the impact of Christian communities in European society is undergoing significant changes. New Member States have acceded to the European Union.

The third edition of this book responds to these developments. It gives an account of the law on religion in all the Member States and in the European Union itself. The contributions follow a similar structure to facilitate the comparison between the various systems.

The work and friendship of the European Consortium for Church and State Research and its members were absolutely vital to this endeavour. I do thank all those who have contributed to make this book possible, especially Professor David McClean and Dr Penny Granger for having revised the English language of all the reports.

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