The European Union and the New Religious Movements

Abstract

The paper looks at how European institutions, namely the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe, deal with new religious movements (NRMs). Drawing upon the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice, the paper addresses the question of the place of new religions in the ‘transparent dialogue’ with the European Commission. In order to answer this question, fieldwork has been conducted to find out which NRMs are present in Brussels and are dialogue partners of the Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA). The article points out what is at stake for a new religious movement in participating in the EU debates over the role of religion and its contribution to the construction of Europe. The preliminary findings allow us to claim that some movements frequently considered as ‘cults’ or ‘sects’ in the parliamentary reports of several member states (as well as in reports of specialised state agencies of ‘cult’ control) have been recognised as possible partners in discussions with the EU Commission. Even though the dialogue is supposed to be open and transparent, this paper raises the question of the qualities needed in a religious movement to be represented at the EU level. The paper shows how European institutions have participated in the debate on NRMs and raises questions over the possible influence of EU institutions, direct or indirect, on the policy of member states on religious matters. It also shows how governance in the relations between EU, civil society and religions could constitute a possible model for member states in dealing with the growing pluralistic landscape of the EU.