Between faith, expertise and advocacy: the role of religion in European Union policy-making on immigration

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the place of religion in European immigration policy. Focusing on the role of faith-based organizations, the purpose is to know how religious issues, actors and references are dealt with in the policy-making process. The method relies on document analysis and qualitative interviews. Our conclusion is mixed: overall, the logics of interactions between religion and immigration are the same at the European and national levels. Religion is neither a proper policy issue nor a legitimizing resource. It is an ethical inspiration and gives credentials to actors from majority denominations, but religious contents have to be translated into secular terms. However, whereas at the national level tensions surrounding Islam have strengthened the political role of minority religions, this is not the case in the European Union. Rather, the policy field is dominated by Christian organizations, who utilize their expertise and influence to act as immigrants’ advocates rather than immigrant representatives.

KEY WORDS:

• Civil society
• European Union
• faith-based organizations
• immigration
• public policy
• religion

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank Émilie Mondo and Thibaut L'Ortye for assistance in the process of data collection and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions.

FUNDING

This work was supported by Université Libre de Bruxelles under the grant ‘Ouverture Internationale’ [BRIC-12/072].

Additional information

Biographical notes

François Foret is professor of political science at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Jean Monnet Chair ‘Social and Cultural Dimensions of European Integration’ (SocEUR) and director for political research at the Institute of European Studies, CEVIPOL.

Julia Mourão Permoser is assistant professor at the University of Vienna in the Research Platform ‘Religion and Transformation in Contemporary European Society’.