In spite of a lively campaign, only 38 per cent of the British population voted during the elections to the European Parliament in June 2004. Why? A tradition of insularity? The apparent remoteness of European institutions? A failure by politicians and opinion leaders to communicate the issues involved?
There is no reason to think that members of the British Churches differ from most of their fellow-citizens in this context. Yet the importance of the Christian heritage in Europe has been underlined in recent debates on the proposed European Constitution, and, as David Goodbourne, General Secretary of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, writes in his Foreword to this timely publication, Christians 'have a responsibility to be well informed…a responsibility to care that the European Union should be a force for good in the wider world'.
Faith in Europe answers questions about the origin, purpose and future of the European Union, focusing particularly on the contribution - past, present and potential - of the Churches and Christians. It is a valuable and timely resource both for concerned individuals and for study groups at a time when the European Union has almost doubled in membership and is facing the challenges of a new century.
