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  • © 2019

Morality Politics in a Secular Age

Strategic Parties and Divided Governments in Europe

Palgrave Macmillan

Authors:

  • Develops a new framework for understanding religion and morality politics in Europe
  • Argues that a logic of wedge issue competition drives the politicization of morality policies in parliaments of the religious world
  • Opts for a dynamic (time-variant) conception of the effect of parliamentary issue attention on morality policy change

Part of the book series: Comparative Studies of Political Agendas (CSPA)

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxiv
  2. Introduction

    • Eva-Maria Euchner
    Pages 1-17
  3. Secularization, Morality Policies, and Party Conflicts in Europe

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 19-19
    2. Comparing Attention and Change in Morality Issues

      • Eva-Maria Euchner
      Pages 83-118
  4. Religious-Secular Divide and Politicization of Morality Policies

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 119-119
    2. Mechanisms of Wedge-Issue Competition

      • Eva-Maria Euchner
      Pages 157-188
  5. Linking Parliamentary Attention and Change in Morality Policies

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 189-189
  6. Conclusions

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 233-233
    2. Morality Politics in a Secular Age

      • Eva-Maria Euchner
      Pages 235-264
  7. Back Matter

    Pages 265-301

About this book

"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



“Building upon the dichotomy between the “secular” and “religious” worlds of European morality politics, Dr. Euchner plumbs the empirical depths of four nations to unearth a compelling theoretical explanation for when value-laden conflicts surface in parliaments with a strong secular-religious party cleavage. This singularly important volume belongs in the institutional libraries and bibliographic collections of every serious student of public policy analysis, especially those of us who focus on morality policy.”
—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.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Geschwister-Scholl-Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, Germany

    Eva-Maria Euchner

About the author

Eva-Maria Euchner is a postdoctoral researcher at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany. She studied Politics and Public Administration at the University of Konstanz. Her research trajectory focuses on morality politics, religion and legislative behaviour. She has published articles in the Journal of European Public Policy, Politics and Religion and Parliamentary Affairs.


Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access