This one-day conference explores the ways in which religions have contributed to the construction of the European Union, from the establishment of the European Economic Community in 1957 to today.

Religion and Politics in the Construction of the European Union - 16 June 2007, Draft Programme

Department of Government, European Institute, London School of Economics

Plenary Session

Opening Plenary Session, 10.00-12.30, Shaw Library, 6th Floor, Old Building, LSE

John Madeley, London School of Economics
· Introduction: Grit or Pearl?  The Religious Factor in the Politics of European Integration

Professor Jean-Paul Willaime, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne
·  Secularism (Laïcité), Religion and European Integration

Dr Linda Risso, University of Reading
· The French and Italian Christian Democrats and the Rearmament of Germany, 1949-1955

Professor Norman Doe, Cardiff University
· Toward a ‘Common Law’ on Religion in the EU

Dr François Foret, Université Libre de Bruxelles
· Religion: a Solution or a Problem for the Legitimization of the European Union ?

Break 12.30-14.00

Parallel Sessions A

Church-State Models
14.00-16.00, Shaw Library, 6th Floor, Old Building, LSE
Chair: Professor Roger Trigg, Oxford University

Professor Mark Hill, Cardiff University
· Voices in the Wilderness: The Established Church of England and the European Union

Caroline Sägesser, Université Libre de Bruxelles
· How is the Enlargement of the EU Affecting Models of State and Church Relations?

Dr Sabine Riedel, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin
· Models of Church-State Relations in the European Union

Russell Sandberg, Cardiff University
· Church-State Relations in Europe: Towards a New Legal Model

Daphne Halikiopoulou, London School of Economics
· The Changing Dynamics of Religion and National Identity: Greece and Ireland in a Comparative Perspective

Europe’s Soul

14.00-16.00, Room 698, 6th Floor, Old Building, LSE
Chair: Dr Piers Ludlow, London School of Economics

Carin Laudrup, University of Copenhagen
·  A  European Battlefield - Does the EU Have a Soul?

Giulio Venneri and Paolo O. Ferrara, University of Trento
· The Europeist efforts of Alcide De Gasperi and the Proposals of Antonio Messineo: A Spiritual Conception of Politics Meeting a Pragmatic Idea of Religion?

Professor Vincenzo Pacillo, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
·  “Positive Secularism” and its Development in the Italian Legal System

Dr Blandine Chelini-Pont, Université Paul Cézanne. Aix-en-Provence
· The Papal Thought about Europe and European Union and its Ways of Influence

Max Fras and Dr David Herbert, Open University
· European Enlargement, Secularization and Religious Republicization in Central and Eastern Europe

Dr Emile Perreau-Saussine, University of Cambridge
· The Nation State as a Prerequisite for Religious Pluralism

Break, 16.00-16.30

Parallel Sessions B

Islam in the EU

16.30-18.30, Shaw Library, 6th Floor, Old Building, LSE
Chair: tbc

Dr Benoit Challand, European University Institute
· From Sickle to Crescent: The Question of Religion for European Identity

Dr Katherine Brown, University of Southampton
· Fanatics in the Mosque and women want in? Tensions with the Securitization of Islam and Muslim Women’s Islamic Identities

Luca Mavelli, University of Wales
· Islam and European Integration. Re-enforcing or Overcoming the divide?

Parveen Akhtar, University of Birmingham
· Religion in the Air: A case study of a Birmingham-based Muslim Radio station

Dr Paul Wetherly, Leeds Metropolitan University
· The Danish Cartoons and the Reasonable Exercise of Freedom of Expression

EU Lobbies

16.30-18.30, Room 698, 6th Floor, Old Building, LSE
Chair: tbc

Dr Bérengère Massignon, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne
. Church Lobbying between Secularisation and Desecularization

Kenneth Houston, University of Ulster
. Article 52.3: The Logic and Dynamic of Structured Dialogue between Religious Associations and the Institutions of the EU

Friederike Böllmann, Philipps University, Marburg
· Churches as INGOs and EU Policy Experts? The Europeanization of Religious Organisations

Dr Martin Steven, University of Glasgow
· Religious Lobbies in the European Union: The Political Role of Western European Christian Churches, post-9/11

Sabrina Pastorelli, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Sorbonne
· European Union and New Religions