Last month the citizens of Great Britain voted in a referendum to leave the European Union, and initiated a process known as Brexit that will release the United Kingdom from its obligations and privileges towards the old continent over the next several years. The effects of this historic event have already been felt, and will undoubtedly shape the economic and political future of Europe and beyond.
The value of the British pound and the U.S. stock market immediately dropped, political unrest in Great Britain is on the rise and threatening a possible break-up of the country, the entire European Union is weakened, and the outcome of the U.S. presidential election this year might be affected. "Brexit" came as a surprise to many, because the European Union has been largely evaluated in economic terms and benefits, and it was assumed that people would not vote for an action that might bring them economic decline, uncertainty and immediate hardship. However, the deep ideological and spiritual problems of this international institution have been largely overlooked.
Although the European Union has always been officially portrayed as a primarily economic institution, its Catholic origins and symbolism cannot be denied. The two primary founding fathers, Robert Schuman and Konrad Adenauer, were both devoted Catholics and studied theology. They negotiated the Coal and Steel Community between Germany and France in 1951, which gave rise to the European Economic Community in 1956 and eventually the European Union in 1993. They were associated with the European Christian democratic political parties which focused on the promotion and implementation of Catholic social teachings. The flag of the United Europe, a circle of 12 golden stars on a dark blue background was inspired by the crown of Our Lady (as its author Arsène Heitz revealed 30 years later), and it was officially adopted on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8, 1955. Thus, the idea of a common Europe had a distinctly Catholic identity from the beginning, even though it was not publicly emphasized by the mainstream media.
During the Cold War this identity was implicitly present, because the European Economic Community provided not only great benefits of international cooperation, economic specialization, cost reduction and security, but was also safeguarding the Christian democratic ideals in contrast to the atheistic reign of Communism behind the Iron Curtain in the eastern part of the continent. St. John Paul II, who came from that part of Europe and who played an important role in the fall of Communism there, envisioned a united and integrated Europe of both east and west under Christian ideals, in which the former Communist countries would find a Christian home and spiritual renewal.
However, by the time Communism and the Iron Curtain fell in 1989 and the European Union began to expand to the east, Christianity was already in decline as many Western Europeans gradually drifted away from their churches. According to the Eurobarometer Poll, only 51 percent of Europeans believed in God by 2010, and weekly church attendance fell below 15 percent in the majority of EU countries. It is, therefore, no surprise that Christianity has not provided the kind of unifying force that was once envisioned, and European political institutions are not tied to the system of Christian values. Although some EU policies, such as non-discrimination laws, protection of minorities, and social programs for the disadvantaged, have retained the spirit of Catholic social teaching, others are in stark contrast to it, such as the EU pressure on national governments to facilitate abortions on demand.
This lack of ideological unity has been revealed in the EU's inability to craft a unified strategy regarding the reception and integration of Muslim immigrants – but as German Chancellor Angela Merkel pointed out, Europe suffered not from too much Islam, but too little Christianity. The Muslim population in Europe has been steadily rising for several decades, triggering various extremist reactions. In one case, France adopted a controversial law barring people from wearing religious symbols, including scarfs for women, in public buildings. In another case, the bishop of the Protestant Church of Sweden proposed removing all crosses from church buildings to help Muslim refugees feel more welcome. The ultimate challenge came last year, when more than one million refugees from the Middle East crossed Europe's borders, creating the most serious humanitarian crisis on the continent since World War II.
The lack of a unified policy and consensus on how to manage the immigration crisis spurred by violence in the Middle East has remained an unresolved point of contention in the European Union ever since. Polls show that immigration politics was one of the main deciding factors for those Britons who voted to leave the European Union.
For economic analysts, the Brexit referendum seems irrational, because even in areas where people receive more subsidies from the EU than they contribute (such as in Wales), the majority voted to leave. However, the Brexit vote also reveals a deep ideological and spiritual crisis within the European Union, and shows that even if political integration is pursued for economic reasons, it is impossible to achieve without a shared ideology and system of values, especially on a multi-ethnic continent with a history of conflict and divisions. The decline of Christianity, and the failure to develop an overarching identity that could transcend these ethnic, national and religious differences, will make it very difficult for Europe to remain unified.
Dr. Kamila Valenta is a member of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte and a part-time professor at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, where she teaches ethnic conflict.