Viewpoint - European Christian Legacy : Revisiting a Historical Controversy

Résumé 0

The desire to include a reference to Christianity in the preamble to the European Constitution led to a violent debate with some opposing this recognition in the name of secularism. The violence of the controversies is surprising in that the thorny question of the organization of religion, which had previously been a cause of clashes, was not the problem here. Likewise, the desire to place the Constitution under the aegis of the supreme being, demanded by some people, had few chances of being satisfied. The debate focused on the question of European identity of which some leaders wanted to see the Christian basis acknowledged. This dimension is not deniable and such an acknowledgment is simply recognition of a reality. Christianity certainly shaped the European continent, conferring a real unity on it, even if this religion also had the effect of dividing it. Rather than denying the evidence, wouldn’t it be preferable to admit it while recalling the errors it committed as well as what Christianity brought to Europe?