Poland’s European Vision: Religion, Secularism, and Poland’s Role in the Emergence of the Lisbon Treaty

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Abstract This article analyzes Poland’s policies during the EU Constitution debate in the early 2000s to develop a more nuanced, complex understanding of how national identity, religion, and EU membership come together in Poland’s “global design,” or international relations from Poland’s standpoint. In 2000–2005 other EU members criticized Poland for its assertiveness on the issues of retaining the Nice Treaty and insisting on references to Christianity in the EU Constitution; Poland was regarded as “too religious.” In analyzing Poland’s stance and its response, this article demonstrates the processes by which Polish elites linked Christianity to a specific conception of “Europe,” and in so doing challenged long-standing EU hierarchies of “West” and “East.” In particular, Poland’s global design exposed the inconsistencies in France’s official position on the EU Constitution and its reliance on a “secular” Europe.