Chrześcijaństwo i Europa. O stosunku religii i polityki w kontekście europejskim

THIS ARTICLE IS an attempt to answer what European religious identity really is and how Europeans understand and interpret the separation of church and state. Using the example of Turkey declaring willingness to join the European Union, the author confronts two different approaches and ways of thinking about this issue. The Christian culture is presented where the distinction between religion and politics is so widespread that the identification of the pluralist and lay society with Christian norms was abandoned a long time ago. However, everything that is Christian also has its cultural aspect. The world of Islam, on the other hand does not know the distinction between religion and politics, between a community based on religious standards and a pluralist society condemned to freedom of faith and conscience. Issues of borderline between religion and politics have become a real problem for society and politics in recent years and decades, not only because of Islam. In this context we notice that religion can inspire political freedom as in appropriate conditions religion and politics can interact with each other on a friendly basis, but they can also give rise to some specific problems.