Morality Politics in a Secular Age: Strategic Parties and Divided Governments in Europe: Comparative Studies of Political Agendas

"Euchner’s carefully researched and cogently argued study of morality politics in Europe adds an outstanding piece of research to the ever growing literature on religion and politics. Its combination of quantitative and qualitative comparative analysis involving a novel data set and cross-policy perspectives demonstrates persuasively the role of religion as a resource for political action even in secularized societies."

—Michael Minkenberg, Viadrina European University, Germany

—Raymond Tatalovich, Loyola University Chicago, USA

This book introduces a new theoretical framework from which to understand religion and morality politics in Europe. This framework provides a first—and rather provocative—answer to the general debate on how religion influences policy-making processes. Specifically, the book argues that religion is more a strategic resource for political parties than a fundamental normative doctrine shaping political parties’ policy-making behavior in a systematic and coherent way. The framework proposes a mechanism (i.e. wedge issue competition) that can be used to identify and explain the conditions under which issues related to religious values rise and fall in parliaments of the religious world in Europe and what consequences we may expect in terms of policy reforms.