Orthodox Christianity and Human Rights in Europe A Dialogue Between Theological Paradigms and Socio-Legal Pragmatics

Abstract

Since 1989, European studies about religions and democracy have progressively been focused on issues about Islam integration v. Islamic radicalism. It is especially true within the western secularized part of Europe. Such a (legitimate) interest, however, should not obscure other important questions about the relationship between religions, pluralism and Human rights in Europe, and need to be balanced today by new data and influences due to the European enlargement. Orthodox Christianity has become a significant religious actor along with other Christian confessions in Europe. Following the adherence of Greece – the first Eastern Orthodox country that joined the EU in 1981 –, other countries with an Orthodox majority, such as Romania, Bulgaria, and Cyprus, also joined the EU. There is also a significant Orthodox minority in several other EU countries, such as Finland, Poland, Slovakia, Estonia, and Hungary, as well as in the diaspora communities of several Western European countries. If the process of “Europeanization” does not imply uniformity, in terms of cultural, religious and linguistic traditions, it does, on the contrary, imply common underlying principles and shared norms that are based on the articulation of shared precepts and values of being “European”, among which, in particular, the shared conception of, and adherence to individual Human Rights plays a crucial role.