quinta-feira, 15 de fevereiro de 2007

Roy Brown: «Secularism under Siege»

«As was widely expected, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is using the current six-month German presidency of the European Union to revive the project for a European constitution -- with God included. Merkel expressed her support for a "God clause" in the constitution following her visit in August to Pope Benedict XVI. She said, "We need a European identity in the form of a constitutional treaty and I think it should be connected to Christianity and God, as Christianity has forged Europe in a decisive way."

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Central to Chancellor Merkel's project is the "Berlin Declaration," a statement of principles to be fed into the creation of a new European constitution. All EU heads of government have been asked to nominate a "trusted advisor" to contribute to the draft, but members of the European Parliament have been warned not to get involved.
The danger here is obvious. Any treaty that confuses the undoubted role of the Churches in European history with its frequently negative role in the creation of modern European civilization is likely to be hugely divisive in the context of modern Europe.
Pressure already exists in many states for different laws for minorities, based on their differing values. A sectarian Constitution that highlights Europe's supposed Judeo-Christian heritage can only serve to exacerbate cultural differences.
Demands among Europe's minorities already range from codifying cultural differences into family law, to an outright acceptance of Sharia law for Muslims. A recent survey showed that some 30 percent of British Muslims would prefer to live under Sharia Law. Among young Muslims the percentage was even higher.
Various prelates of the Church of England have also recently seen fit to attack secularism, seemingly unable to distinguish between state neutrality and hostility to religion, and failing to recognize that the secular state is the only guarantee of religious freedom for all.
(...)»
(Roy Brown, que é o ex-presidente da International Humanist and Ethical Union, no Institute for Humanist Studies.)

3 comentários :

Anónimo disse...

Roy Brown confunde duas coisas; o reconhecimento da importância do cristianismo na história europeia (isto claro, para um católico cultural) e a tentativa (sem pés nem cabeça) da parte de minorias de imporem agendas próprias (sobre maiorias).

Isso é confusionismo...

Ricardo Alves disse...

Não, Tiago. A Merkel é que está a confundir o reconhecimento da realidade cultural que é o cristianismo (que ninguém contesta), com a afirmação política de uma «herança cristã» (o que só criaria problemas).

Pedro Fontela disse...

O projecto europeu é de natureza politica, qualquer referência religiosa estaria deslocada, ainda por cima seria um factor de divisão entre europeus.