Europeanisation and Eurolaicisation: Key Landmarks in the Relations Between the European Union and Churches, Religious Associations and Non-Confessional Organisations

Odnos Europske Unije i crkava, religijskih zajednica i udruženja različitih nereligioznih uvjerenja institucionaliziran je Deklaracijom br. 11 Ugovora iz Amsterdama, Poveljom o temeljnim pravima Europske Unije (čl. 10.) i Lisabonskim ugovorom (čl. 17. Konsolidirane verzije Ugovora o funkcioniranju Europske Unije). Budući da ugovori o stvaranju Europske zajednice i poslije Europske Unije nisu spominjali odnos prema religijskim zajednicama, što je posve razumljivo s obzirom na sadržaj ugovora, tek je s neformalnim, a potom sve više službenim inicijativama između Europske komisije i predstavnika vodećih religijskih zajednica došlo do dijaloga. Pokušajem identificiranja ključnih prekretnica u odnosu između Europske Unije te crkava i nekonfesionalnih organizacija ovaj rad želi istražiti mogućnosti historijskog institucionalizma u istraživanju političkog sustava Europske Unije. Ključne prekretnice moguće je promatrati kod crkava i religijskih zajednica, kao i kod političkih tijela Europske Unije. Pri proučavanju promjena koje dovode do stvaranja europskog modela odnosa prema religijskim zajednicama rad se zadržava na radu Europske komisije, dok utjecaj europskog zakonodavstva (koje uključuje sudske odluke Europskog suda i Europskog suda za ljudska prava) ostavlja za jednu širu analizu ovog odnosa.The relationship between the European Union and churches, religious associations and associations of various non-religious beliefs is institutionalised by Declaration 11 of the Treaty of Amsterdam, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Art. 10) and the Treaty of Lisbon (Art. 17 of the Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). As the treaties on the creation of the European Community and, later, the European Union failed to mention the relationship towards religious associations, which is perfectly understandable considering the contents of the treaties, a dialogue arose only with the informal, and, thereupon, more and more official initiatives between the European Commission and the representatives of the leading religious associations. Through an attempt to identify key landmarks in the relationship between the European Union and churches and non-confessional organisations, this paper seeks to explore the possibilities for historical institutionalism in researching the political system of the European Union. The key landmarks can be observed among churches and religious associations, as well as among the political bodies of the European Union. In studying the changes leading to the creation of a European model of the relationship towards religious associations, the paper focuses on the working of the European Commission, while leaving the impact of European legislation (which includes rulings by the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights) for a broader analysis of this relationship