• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

Religion, Politics and Policy in Europe

Module description

This module provides you with insights into contemporary issues related to the interactions between religion, politics and policy in Europe in a comparative perspective. We explore whether, why, how and under what conditions religion matters in politics and policy making. We examine major explanatory approaches related to the impact of secularisation, church-state relations, veto players, party competition and populism. The course discusses a range of issues related to religion, politics and policy - such as sexual/reproductive rights and self-determination (abortion and same sex marriage), the expression of religion in the public sphere, and the protection of minorities.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aims of this module are to introduce to key concepts and theoretical perspectives in the analysis of religion, politics and policy in democracies; to enhance your understanding of contemporary religious issues in politics and policy in post-industrial societies; and to provide you with the skills to examine the ways in which religion influences politics and policy. The primary context is Europe.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of significant contemporary debates about religion, politics and policy in in Europe
• 2. Critically assess the channels through which religion may be still relevant to understand policy making in the 21st century across a variety of policy issues

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Critically analyse a range of theoretical approaches to comparative analysis of religion and politics
• 4. Critically analyse primary and secondary source material and apply an analytical argument

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Conduct independent research, exercise critical judgment, write cogently and persuasively;
• 6. Work in a group to contribute effectively to the achievement of objectives

Syllabus plan

The module assesses and challenges theoretical foundations through the comparative examination of a range of contemporary issues related to religion, politics and policy in Europe.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Bruce, S. (2002). God is dead: secularization in the West. Oxford: Blackwell.
• Bulutgil, H. Z. (2022). The origins of secular institutions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Burns, G. (2005). The Moral Veto: Framing Contraception, Abortion, and Cultural Pluralism in the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Casanova, J. (1994). Public Religions in the Modern World. University of Chicago Press.
• Davies, G. (1994). Religion in Britain since 1945: Believing without belonging. John Wiley & Sons.
• Davies, G. (2015). Religion in Britain: A Persistent Paradox. Wiley-Blackwell.
• Engeli, I., C. Green-Pedersen, and L. T. Larsen, eds. (2012). Morality Politics in Western Europe: Parties, Agendas and Policy Choices. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Fetzer, J. and Soper, J.C. (2005). Muslims and the State in Britain, France, and Germany, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Fox, J. (2015). Political Secularism, Religion, and the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Grzymala-Busse, A. M. (2015). Nations under God: How churches use moral authority to influence policy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Grzymala-Busse, A. M. (2023). Sacred foundations: The religious and medieval roots of the European state. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Haynes, J. (ed.) (2016). Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics. New York: Routledge.
• Kolpinskaya, E., & Fox, S. (2021). Religion and Euroscepticism in Brexit Britain (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429324581
• Lewis, A. R. (2017). The Rights Turn in Conservative Christian Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Norris, P. and R. Inglehart (2011). Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Shakman Hurd, E. (2017). Beyond Religious Freedom: The New Global Politics of Religion. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Soper J.C. and Fetzer J. (2018). Religion and Nationalism in Global Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Key words search

Religion, Politics, Policy-making, Morality, agenda, issue attention, gender, LGBT