Reference period: from 1 September 2002 to 31 August Project financed within the Key Action Improving the Socio-economic Knowledge Base

Transcription

1 PERIODIC PROGRESS REPORT 12 MONTHS Title: Churches and European Integration Project coordinator: University of Helsinki Partners: Lund University University of Glasgow University of Tartu University of Muenster Reference period: from 1 September 2002 to 31 August 2003 Starting date: 1 September 2001 Duration: 12 months Date of issue of this report: 31 October 2003 Project financed within the Key Action Improving the Socio-economic Knowledge Base EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

2 The Project Churches and European Integration studies the political role of the Churches in the post-second World War Europe. The topic is approached by using the methods of Church History, History and History of Ideas as well as Systematic Theology. The studies of the Project are conducted in five European countries (Finland, Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, Estonia), which allow the Project to benefit from the various research traditions and methodological approaches. The post-war process of European integration is in the focal point of interest in this Project. With integration we understand not only those interstate processes of economic, military and political integration and of forming alliances but also the kind of thinking, programmatic work and action, which aimed to increase the common understanding of the various European nations and to promote peace. The Project studies the impact of Churches and various international Christian and ecumenical organizations as well as ecumenical dialogues and activities on these developments. The geographical centre of the study is in Western Europe. The organisations studied include mainly Protestant and Orthodox churches which reflect the reality of many ecumenical organisations in Europe, but also Catholic churches as the various case studies show. The understanding behind the Project is that in the studies of the European political history of recent past it is not enough to study the processes of political decision making and those political changes resulting from these decisions. It is also necessary to focus on the attitudes and values of people and on the interpretation of these attitudes and values in historic situations and on the ways in which they affect people and their visions for the future. It is exactly Churches and Christian organizations, which have been and still are important actors in forming ideological perceptions and opinions amongst the Europeans. The churches and Christian organizations have also in the past hundred years - acted as pioneers in international co-operation. In order to understand recent past it is therefore necessary to understand the attitudes and the model of action adopted by the Churches. The aim of the Project is to promote discussion and evaluation of its results by other researchers and by Churches and non-governmental organizations. It is also advisable that this work would challenge political decision makers both in national and international levels to contemplate on the importance of values both in making political choices but also in the European political life as such. Social and Political Issues as important part of the Tradition of the Churches Throughout the times the political dimension has had an important role in the teaching and in the practise of the Churches. In the Christian preaching and theology the ethics and morality has always had an important place. The issues of just society, social responsibility and the questions of war and peace have belonged to the key questions explored by the Churches. A common ground can be found in the teaching of the Christian Churches, but differences also occur. The theological differences may have led even in the recent past the Churches to seek socio-ethical solutions, which differ from those solutions found by another Church. A certain passivity of Lutheran Churches to tackle the political developments during the Third Reich can be given as an example. After the Second World War the crisis of Lutheran social ethics was debated in many countries. This led to many changes. Also the other Churches have tried to learn from the mistakes they have made and 2

3 thus to revise their social ethical approaches. But even today it is typical for the Churches to aim to settle their social ethical activities to the theological frames which can be found in the theological tradition that they represent. The Churches have their own traditions, but at the same time they have inevitably been political actors by themselves and therefore been also marked by the time. When studying Churches historically it is meaningful to ask to which extent the churches have in a particular time, in their statements and actions settled to follow the common political trends of the time and therefore been in the mainstream and to which extent they have had something independent to offer. The Research Questions of the Churches and European Integration Project The Churches and European Integration Project analyses how the Churches perceived the situation and the problems of the tense, divided Cold War Europe and what kinds of programs and plans of action were developed amongst the Churches in order to support and to encourage the broadly understood European integration and the welfare systems promoting it. The project also studies the ways in which this work was motivated and what kind of importance and impact did the activities of the Churches provide to the unifying Europe. The perspective of the Project is partly stretched to cover the political reality, which followed the Cold War, during the 1990s. Then it is asked, how the Churches succeeded in leaving the Cold War setting behind and what was their analysis of the new situation. Project also studies how the Churches found new models in order to approach the new social and political challenges and crises. Being composed of studies conducted in five European countries, the results of the Project can never produce a complete analysis of the situation. Therefore the research is based on case studies on which each country involved carries independent responsibility. The aim is to reach a comparative approach in the final conclusions. In this Project the concept of the European Integration is understood broadly. It comprises from the economic, political and military co-operation, which took place in the Cold War Europe, but also from those ideological manifestations made and lines chosen which were typical for the time and for the historic situation. When we discuss the role of the Churches in the European Integration we include those actions and thinking of Christians and Churches, which fit to this definition. The churches are both political actors and creators of ideological perceptions. They have and have had different kinds of national roles and political self-understandings in various times. Also the confessions have played an important role in defining the national role and the political self-understanding of a given church. This is particularly visible during the Cold War. The dialogue between the cultures and religions is not as such a target for the study at hand but the current reality acts, as understandable, as a context to our study.the comparative approach in this study focuses on the attempt to compare the political roles and the self-understanding of the Churches in various historical contexts. This takes place through analysing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the churches as political actors. This analysis is the basis when trying to understand the 3

4 quality of the political performance of the churches. It is still the reality, that the Christianity and its values remains to be a factor influencing the political mindset of many Europeans.The interest of the study is to bring the political context to dialogue with our research findings. Making an analysis of this kind gives informed tools to the churches to ease their own self understanding and evaluation of their own motives and action even today. Levels on which the Project studies the importance of the Churches in the Process of European Integration The work of the Churches promoting the process of European Integration is impossible to separate from the reality of Cold War, as it is impossible to discuss the European Integration without this background. Project approaches its theme both from a general level and but also through the case studies, which provides more analytical and detailed information on the realities of five different European countries. The starting point of the Project is the understanding that the anti-religious element in Communism as an ideology determined the relationships of Churches to the Communist states as problematic. Due to this the Christians in the Western world prevailed to view the entire Eastern block as anti- Christian entity. Therefore as the first central point of view the Project examines the political and ideological attitudes behind the European integration. It is also central to find out what kind of picture of Communism there was in the Churches and how did that change. Project examines also how the Churches viewed the general conditions for the European unity and what kind of Europe they would have wanted to build. What did they think of integration and its need? What kind of future did they think that Europe would have? Did they consider that the Churches would have had an active role in creating it? In the Project it is also asked, how the Christians did and the Churches see the international situation of the time and the entire historic reality. Special attention is paid to establish the changes in these understandings in various countries and in different times, for example due to the influence of various crises of the Cold War. Second central point of view is the examination of the practical activities of the Churches; the level of actions. The Project studies whether the Churches were involved in planning and in the realization of political, economic, and military models of co-operation. It is also asked, what kinds of activities did the Churches create and realize by themselves both nationally and internationally. As points of interest are then for example research activities, projects, organizations, aid work, peace activities, and radio work. Thirdly, the Project examines the perspectives offered by those theological approaches chosen by the Churches. The Project studies social ethical statements and manifestos, where a socio-ethical perspective to the situation in Europe can be found. Additionally the Project studies those theological discussions and consultations, which the Churches launched across the Iron Curtain. What was their motivation to do so? Centrally it is studied, if common denominators can be found for the activities of the Churches and Christians to promote European integration during the years of Cold War. What was the reasoning given to this work? Did these denominators or the reasoning change through the time? Fourthly, the Project studies the impact of the work of the Churches and Christian organizations to the Process of European Integration. 4

5 State of the affairs in the Project In this report we try to outline what is the state of the affairs in the Churches and European Integration Project and how have the various work packages managed to follow the work plan as outlined in the contract and what kinds of preliminary results can be found so far. In the end of the second year and gearing towards the final year it is obvious that only midterm results can be given. REPORTS FROM EACH WORK PACKAGE Work package 1 Planning the Theoretical and Practical framework for the Project During the second project year the common workshops of the Churches and European Integration project have played important role in offering space to discuss jointly the common theoretical and practical framework for the Project. During the second year two workshops have taken place. In September 2002 the Project held its meeting in Lund, Sweden and in March 2003 the joint workshop took place in Münster, Germany. During the workshops the researchers from all work packages presented papers on core elements of their study for discussion and evaluation. Often in these discussions the researches and the members of the Program Coordination Committee (PCC) and the Advisory Board were discussing methodological questions and issues which helped the project to find its theoretical and practical ground. The PCC met both in September 2002 jointly with Advisory Board - as well as in March 2003 and in these meetings the theoretical elements were also debated. In Münster meeting, March 2003, the Project leader Aila Lauha presented a methodological paper for discussions. In her paper she was seeking to identify clearly the common ground of the project. This included both the theoretical aspects as well as the practical aspects. The key elements of this work are outlined in the executive summary of this report. It is obvious that due to the nature of the Project the discussion goes on. The work which has started around the final report of the Churches and European Integration Project the first editorial committee meeting in August 2003 will carry on this debate. Work package 2 The Peace Issue in Ecumenical Dialogues during the Cold War and its Implications on the Life of the Churches The task of WP 2 is to analyze in which way the peace issue was discussed in bilateral ecumenical dialogues during the Cold War. The WP mainly focuses on those dialogues in which German Protestant Churches and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) took part. This focus was chosen because of two reasons. First, the German Protestant Churches were in a special situation during the Cold War: they blamed themselves for not having taken a role of a clear opposition during 1933 and 1945 and especially in the Second World War. Second, dialogues between the German Protestant Churches and other churches in Eastern Europe mostly did not reflect the problems of peace, except for the dialogues between the Finnish Lutheran Church and the ROC. But because of the special Finnish situation WP 2 will not specialize on those dialogues. 5

6 WP 2 wants to analyze which ideas concerning the peace issue have been discussed, who spoke about peace and in which way, what problems have been figured out. Moreover, it will be asked in which way these discussions can still be seen as useful today or whether these discussions do not have any value after the Cold War. Another question is in how far the churches themselves regarded being involved in the most important problem of politics and society (the issue of peace) in a time of political crisis and in how far the churches later on changed their roles in a time of political change. WP 2 takes different approaches: First the published material of the dialogues especially the official results and the published literature concerning these dialogues had to be analyzed. Moreover, it was necessary to search for archive materials to complete the picture which is drawn by literature. Thirdly, it was important to conduct interviews with persons who took part in the dialogues, especially in the Eastern and Western German delegations. These different materials are useful to get an extensive picture of the discussions in and the results of the dialogue and of the atmosphere in which these discussions took place. In this way, the methodological approach is a combination of a historical and a theological one. Following this way, the WP continued the work of the first year between September 2002 and August 2003: Most of the interviews with participants of the dialogues could be done, it was possible to see the last necessary archive files and to start the work of analyzing the new and unpublished material. Furthermore the item of WP 2 could be discussed in seminars as well as in discussions with the interviewed persons. At this stage a few things can be mentioned to present an interim result: First, there can be seen a few reasons which make it possible to call the peace discussion in these dialogues a serious and sometimes lively discussion; if this can be confirmed by the end of the project, one can contradict the statement that the discussion of peace in ecumenical discussions during the Wold War were not real but that the churches only took the official Eastern European positions into account (this statement can be found in the important literature concerning the ecumenical movement in the Cold War). Secondly, churches wanted to play a role even in contemporary political discussions: Probably the most important problem of the time between the end of the Second World War and the end of the communist systems in Europe was the problem of peace; this problem was one of the key issues in bilateral ecumenical dialogues. Furthermore, churches discussed their idea of peace and tried to link it with the political discussions and the social requirements; they even searched for the possibility of working together with non-christian groups and even with communists. Of course this can be criticized: It is possible that especially the Eastern European Churches have been influenced by the communist regimes. But on the other hand it can be said that the churches were able to open themselves for the important ethical and social problems in a time of a political crisis. They tried to find their own contribution to the main problems (especially the peace issue) and to discuss this option with others. Maybe this can be called a kind of integration in times of a political crisis. Thirdly it has to be remembered that the ecumenical contacts between different churches across the Iron Curtain had a special status among the contacts between Eastern and Western Europe because of the status of the churches even in communist Europe (they were the only organization in communist Europe which could exist officially in the communist societies as a non-state controlled organization, and in some cases, especially in Eastern Germany, they were even able to exercise influence to the society). 6

7 Additionally, the churches were able and willing to discuss social and even political problems like the issues of peace and justice. Participants of the ecumenical dialogues were aware of this special status, and on the other hand they knew that communist societies even tried to control their churches. Because of this, a kind of self-restriction gained special significance: Nobody wanted to give communist governments a reason to stop contacts between Eastern and Western European Churches or between Eastern European Churches and the participants were sure that in times of a political crisis like in the early 1980ies the churches were able to help both political sides to keep in contact. Again this shows that churches were able to open themselves for political problems. It has to be asked whether this changed after the communist regimes in Europe fell down. Fourthly, it is interesting to see how the participants of the dialogue characterized the societies of their countries: Of course they used expressions like communist, capitalist and democratic. But in spite of all the differences between the participants, they described the Eastern and the Western societies as modern and secularized. In this special way they did not make a difference between the different societies and countries in Europe! And this means that the churches characterized the societies in the Cold War in the same way as they describe societies of Europe after It has to be asked what this means for the relationship between the churches and the societies of today. In the third year of the project it has to be asked whether the interim result is correct or if it has to be changed. Therefore the work of the WP 2 will be fulfilled according to the exploitation plan of the CEI project. There will be a visit in Moscow to speak with Russian participants of the bilateral dialogues and with members of the Department oft Foreign Affairs of the ROC. In addition to this a few more interviews in Germany will be conducted with members of ecumenical boards to discuss and evaluate the interim results of WP 2. Following this way, the researcher Heiko Overmeyer, supervised by Prof Bremer, continued the work of the first year between September 2002 and August 2003: Most of the interviews with participants of the dialogues could be done, it was possible to see the last necessary archive files and to start the work of analyzing the new and unpublished material. Furthermore, the item of WP 2 could be discussed in different seminars as well as in discussions with interviewed persons and researchers of other projects. Both, Prof Bremer and Mr Overmeyer, presented articles concerning the topic of WP 2 and Mr Overmeyer prepares his doctoral dissertation on this topic. Work package 3 Churches in the context of recent political and economic changes in Europe During the second project year of the work package 3 Churches in the context of recent political and economic changes in Europe the work has been more and more geared around the study of the stand points of the European Churches on globalisation. The accelerating process of globalisation represents both global progress and global fragmentation. Economically, politically and technologically the world has never seemed freer - or more unjust. The accelerated process of globalisation and especially its implications to national economies, nation states and national cultures have created worries in many European churches. It seems that these concerns being the concern for the future of the welfare state model or the future of the Slavic identity seem to mould greatly the social and political understanding of the churches. 7

8 The aim of the work in this work package is to offer an argumentative analysis of the contemporary normative social teaching of the European churches through carefully selected, comparable material. During the second year Ms. Arola has been mainly analysing the already collected research material and has been updating her collections on the basis of the material appearing on the social statements on globalisation of the European churches. During the second year this has meant that the focus has been on the social statements of the Catholic Church, Catholic Bishops Conference in Europe and related research material and literature. Also general studies and literature on globalisation social, political and ethical theory has been in the focus of the work of Ms. Arola. During the 2003 the focus of the research material has been shifted to the social statements of the Church of England. A study visit to United Kingdom is envisaged with additional resources from in autumn It seems to be valuable to search for the general paradigm on globalisation which the churches present. Some of the churches studied advocate for a more globalist, others for a more sceptic approach. It has been also possible to separate those churches with a more holistic view on globalisation with its multiple aspects from those with economically dominated globalist view. Ms. Arola has also analysed the points of interest of the churches when entering into globalisation debate. Often the interest are national weather being preservation of national welfare state or moral concern. There is also a variety in the focus on economical, political (governance) or ethical issues. Also the self-understanding of the churches in these debates has been studied. It seems that there are differences in first of all, how the church presents itself and to what relation it takes to the phenomena or globalisation as well as to whose interest it implicitly or explicitly advocates. The churches present moral, social and political, environmental and capitalist criticism on the current project on globalisation. In these categories the criticism can be divided into liberal/secular, ecumenical as well as to more traditional or fundamentalist approaches. Additionally the role of state and Europe envisaged by the churches in the criticism as well as the social and political partnerships of the churches has been analysed. The actual programme period of this work package has ended in February The researcher employed for the project (Ms. Arola) has started to work fulltime elsewhere, but it is the intention of Professor Saarinen and Ms. Arola to stay involved and closely associated with the Churches and European Integration Project until the end of the entire Project. The final report of the Churches and European Integration Project contains also the final, more advanced results. Work package 4 Political commitments of Western Christianity After World War II Europe was divided both ideologically and politically. This division affected also churches in East and in West. In western European churches often prevailed quite anticommunist atmosphere. Communism was recognized as a force hostile towards religion and it was considered violating basic human rights, for example freedom of thought and speech and freedom of religion. Suspicion against Communism as an ideology and social system was both political and ideological (or spiritual) depending on the background of the church or denomination or Christian group. These anticommunisms created and also uphold the negative picture of the East Europe and feeling of fear. One way to deal with the negative picture of the East Europe and the fear caused by this picture was the will to act against the violations of human rights, especially freedom of 8

9 religion and freedom of speech. Different Christian groups and churches collected and distributed information about the violations of human rights. Churches offered humanitarian aid and possibilities for contacts and co-operations for churches in the East. Also informal and often almost illegal actions were taken. This way Christians in west were acting for freedom on religions and demanding the fulfilment of human rights in the East. Also fear of communism made Western Christians to act. It was asked, what if communism spreads. What would happen to Christianity and religion in Europe? Many had also eschatological expectations. In these circles communism was seen as an apocalyptic world power that would swallow the whole world before Christ comes back to save His own. This kind of fear created willingness for co-operation with others on the same side and for acting behalf of common welfare in the East including the aspiration of balance and peace. Work package 4 deals with the attitudes of Western churches towards Communist East Europe. It describes and analyzes the manifestations and backgrounds of Western Christians' acts towards Communist East and identifies and describes Cold War inspired religious phenomena in Europe in the 1960ies and 1970ies. WP-4 approaches the problemacy through Finland as a case study. It is asked for example what kind of picture the Finnish Church had during the era studied on Communism and on its relations to religion and Churches. What did the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland do and who or what kind of groups inside the church where active? What the church did not do, about what it did not speak and why? It has also been the purpose of WP4 to ask the same question from the Ecumenical movement. If this can be approached is still open, but the case study Finland will be realized as planned. The researchers (Dr. Riho Saard, Mrs. Suvi Kyrö, Mrs. Piia Latvala, Mr. Ville Jalovaara) are carrying out individual studies. Dr Riho Saard carries an individual research about the birth of the Finnish-Russian theological dialogue in co-operation with the WP-4. Mrs. Kyrö, Mrs Latvala and Mr Jalovaara have their dissertations on process. Ms Kyrö's study "Communism in the Christian Literature Published in Finland" concentrates on analyzing the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland's political role and it's stance towards Communism especially in the 1960ies and 1970ies on the basis of the Christian literature. Mrs Latvala's study "Light to the East? Finnish Lutheran Mission's Missionary work to the Slavic Countries " examines the activities (smuggling of Bibles, radio missions etc.) of conservative Christians to the East Europe. The study examines the background of these activities, motives that people had for their work and worldview behind their actions. Question of human rights was in their interests and they tried to keep Finnish people aware of the subject by collecting and publishing material about the violations of freedom of religion, thought and speech in the USSR. Mr Jalovaara's study "The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the crisis in Finnish foreign relations from 1958 to 1962" aims to find out how the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland reacted to the major crisis of the Finnish foreign relations, such as the "note crisis" and "the night frost crisis". Church did not remain silence during the times of national emergency. The team of researchers indicated in the report of this WP work in close co-operation and dialogue and under the supervision of Professor Aila Lauha. A presentation from the WP will be prepared for the final project conference in Tartu. These studies as a part of case study Finland ask, what kind of groups in church (bishops, priests, magazines and newspapers, revival movements) were active and how, what kind of profiles did they have. Were there any differences between their conceptions on communisms and East Europe or did they just end up with different ways of acting because 9

10 of some other reasons. There were at least two different patterns of acting in church: people who were very cautious and usually quiet and people, who were active and doing things. What were the motives behind taking action or remaining silence? What kind of relationship there were between these groups? What was their significance in the entirety? Studies concentrate especially on the ideology and theology of Anti-communism, the smuggling of Bibles to East Europe and links to superpower politics and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland in Finnish politics during the era of Cold War. These studies are thematically close to each other and the researchers have feedback and reflection about their work from other Finnish colleagues in post-graduate seminar supervised by Professor Aila Lauha. Researchers also attend the workshops of CEI with their papers and get feedback and reflections from international group of researchers, the Coordination Committee and Advisory Board of CEI. The responsible leader (Professor Aila Lauha) of the WP-4 has been supervising a seminar for students each of which will write theses ( pages) relating to the theme of the WP-4. Furthermore, these themes are discussed in the post-graduate education supervised by the leader of this work package. The work package interacts with the local and international ecumenical councils and organisations. Work package 5 The churches in the context of the Cold War and European integration: the British perspective As will be seen below, the second year of the Department of History (Modern), University of Glasgow s participation in the CEI project has been, as far as its objectives of conducting and disseminating new research are concerned, a success. This work package has also worked towards the success of the CEI project as a collective enterprise. In particular, through Dr. Hope s participation in the Project Co-Ordination Committee, by oral contributions at CEI workshops and by means of correspondence between meetings, WP5 has endeavoured to guide the orientation of the project towards a substantive and scholarly engagement with the topic of the Churches and European integration. The purpose of WP5 as originally outlined was to promote an understanding amongst European citizens of the underlying assumptions of the established churches and smaller religious groupings in the United Kingdom towards a divided Europe in the Cold War, and a contemporaneous movement for European integration. This aim has continued to be fulfilled in the second year of the project. In its progress report for WP5 mentioned its aim of making its work available in a published form. Considerable progress has been made in this direction. Dr. Hope s work on Anglican-Lutheran church dialogues has been published this year. Dr. Coupland s article British Christians and European Integration appeared in The Historian (Summer 2003), the magazine of the Historical Association, Britain s leading body devoted to the promotion of the study of history. He has also secured acceptance of major articles on this topic in the influential Journal of British Studies, published by the University of Chicago Press, and in Political Theology (Sheffield Academic Press). Dr. Coupland has also prepared and submitted a proposal for a monograph based on his research to a leading academic press for consideration. Altogether, the work of WP5 promises to be a valuable contribution to public understanding of the historical role of the Churches in modern British foreign policy. It 10

11 has shown that the Churches during the 1940s and 50s were a major voice on international relations in British politics. This research also indicates that during this period general institutional stature and close church-state relations gave British Christians significant political influence. Analysis has brought out the very important place that the cultural heritage of Europe as the historical home of Christendom had in British Christian discourse at this time. This, combined with the contemporary importance of ecumenism, allowed many British Christians to identify with Europe. Hence, this work package uncovers the role which Church leaders played as advocates of European unity in the late 1930s early 1940s and as participants in the European Movement in the early post-war period. However, despite this potential, WP5 found that Church leaders tended to follow the lead of other political elites, in both wartime and the post-war period, abandoning pro-european positions for exclusive emphases on the Empire and the Anglo-American Alliance. In this respect, WP5 shows that a combination of the Churches close involvement with British imperialism through overseas mission, the general intimacy of Church-State relations and the then dominant theological discourse yoking political power to religious ideals were all highly influential. During the second year of its operation WP5 has continued to conduct original primary research in the archives of the Churches and the state in the United Kingdom and at the headquarters of the World Council of Churches in Geneva. Aside from its participation in the Churches and European Integration project s own workshops, WP5 has also continued to make its research finding available to interested parties within the academic community and elsewhere. Among such contacts Nicholas Hope has spoken at the German Historical Institute in London and has presented a paper to the Discussant Conference 'Kommunikationstrukturen im europaischen Luthertum der Fruhen Neuzeit' at Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbuttel. Philip Coupland continues to maintain links with, among others, Dr. Andrew Chandler (George Bell Institute, Queen s College Birmingham), Dr. Dianne Kirby (University of Ulster), Professor Keith Robbins (University of Wales) and Mr. Michael Walsh (Heythrop College, University of London). Dr. Coupland has also sustained the CEI project s links to Christianity and the Future of Europe, presenting his research at their 2002 Annual General Meeting. In its progress report for WP5 mentioned its aim of making its work available in a published form. Considerable progress has been made in this direction. Dr. Hope s work on Anglican-Lutheran church dialogues has been published this year. Dr. Coupland s article British Christians and European Integration will appear in The Historian (Summer 2003), the magazine of the Historical Association, Britain s leading body devoted to the promotion of the study of history. He has also secured acceptance of a major article on this topic in the influential Journal of British Studies published by the University of Chicago Press. Dr. Coupland is also writing another piece for Political Theology (Sheffield Academic Press) and has prepared and submitted a proposal for a monograph based on his research to a leading academic press for consideration. Aside from its specifically scholarly work, WP5 has also been much engaged in organising the forthcoming CEI project to be hosted by University of Glasgow in September This has entailed not only the organisation of the practical arrangements for the event, intraproject discussions of the content and aims of the workshop, but also protracted negotiation with the University administration concerning their financial and general support for the event. 11

12 The first major task of WP5 during the final six months of its involvement with the project will be to host a workshop for the whole project at the University of Glasgow at the beginning of September. Glasgow will also continue to focus on maintaining and furthering its links to interested groups and will also seek to complete its work-in-progress as detailed below. In addition, Glasgow anticipates working on its contribution to the final report and/or publications of the CEI project and in participating in the presentation to be organised at Brussels in early Work package 6 The cultural and social impact of the Nordic churches on European integration Due to the theological reorientation of the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic Church in Sweden has changed its pastoral strategy from confessional demarcation to an increasing pluralism. The post-conciliar ecclesiology was the prerequisite for an official dialogue with the leaders of other churches and denominations, which in the Scandinavian case led to collaboration principally with the Lutheran National churches. An apparent result of this change was that the former very common anti-catholic attacks in the media became increasingly rare. Another is the increased interest in Catholic forms of piety and liturgical practice, especially within the Church of Sweden. The positive view on European unification of the Roman Magisterium, reflected in official statements of the Swedish Catholic Church, has together with the ecumenical dialogue - served to create a more positive view on European integration within the Swedish society. Ecumenism can thus be regarded as an important step towards a European integration. On a popular and local level, however, the role of the churches in the process of European integration as solely an expression of ecumenism can be questioned. It seems rather as if the churches international involvement has been related to their basic conception of society; this entailed that missionary, prophetic, confessionalist and ecumenical trends lived side by side. The Swedish non-lutheran Christian denominations (the so-called Free churches) have sometimes been able to cooperate with Swedish Catholics in matters of doctrine, something that might have positive implications for integration of immigrants in Sweden. However, there is still a lot of scepticism among Free church voters of the Christian Democratic party, as well as in political circles on a national level, towards Roman Catholicism of a South European form (in, for example, Mariology and morality),which has had negative effects on their views on European integration. The developments of integration on a non-political, societal, attitudinal, local, maybe even individual level have to a great extent walked hand in hand with the actual possibilities of international contact - the development of tourism and the knowledge of foreign languages. The other churches present at sites of pilgrimages is to a much greater extent accepted and influences are more readily imported. Increased knowledge and understanding are also explicit or implicit goals of many pilgrimages. The WP work on the cultural and social impact of the Nordic churches on European integration has progressed as planned, with the change that TD Erik Sidenvall from May 1 has been included into the project to analyze the impact of local ecumenical work on European integration, dealing with newspaper articles, protocols from ecumenical 12

13 organisations, and interviews. The different parts of the project are described in detail on the homepage Project members are Dr. Martin Bergman (financed part-time in the project), Prof. Anders Jarlert (financed part-time in the project), Dr. Erik Sidenvall (financed part-time in the project from May 1, 2003) and Associate Prof. Yvonne Maria Werner (financed part-time in the project), as well as doctoral students Daniel Alvunger (History) and Thomas Björkman (Church History). Since all the project-financed members from Lund are working part-time in the project, their second year has been used mostly for continuing archival research and seminary presentations. Associate Prof. Werner has been supervisor for Mr. Alvunger, and Prof. Jarlert for Mr. Björkman. The first common workshop of the project took place in Lund, Sept An open part of the workshop with mini-lectures and a panel discussion was visited by interested teachers and students from Lund University. The project was also presented at a reception, as well as in the local papers. Mr. Alvunger has presented papers at the Department of History, University of Lund, Jan. 29, and at the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, University of Lund, Feb. 4. Mr. Björkman has presented a paper at the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, University of Lund, May 20. Prof. Jarlert has published an article on religious minorities in Scandinavia (in Waco, Texas), and one other article with relation to the project. Further, Prof. Werner has published two articles, and Dr. Sidenvall one article with relation to the project. All participants have been working with literature and source material from Lund University Library. Dr. Bergman has been doing research in Riksarkivet (Stockholm), Kungliga Biblioteket (Stockholm), Sigtunastiftelsens klipparkiv (Sigtuna), and in three regional, diocesan archives (Göteborg, Vadstena, Växjö). Prof. Jarlert has been working with literature, and has had contacts and talks with MP: s from the Swedish Christian Democratic Party on their views on the development of the party and integration. Prof. Werner has done archival research on the Roman Catholic Church and the refugee and immigrant question (Stockholm), and will now start her research in the Ecumenical relations. She has made an interview with the former Catholic Bishop of Stockholm, to be published in September. Dr. Sidenvall has been studying literature and has started doing research in newspaper archives. Mr. Alvunger has worked on the Swedish Social Democratic party and its views on Europe and European integration after WW2 up to1970. He has been doing research in the archive and library of the Labour Movement (Stockholm), on congress protocols and records from parliament, as well as on secondary literature and articles from periodicals. The project is connected to the network of the Centre for European Studies, Lund University. The director of the Centre, Professor Magnus Jerneck, has visited one of the seminars. Member of Advisory Board, Professor Hugh McLeod, was created Honorary Doctor at Lund University, May 28. In connection to this, information on the project was publicly spread. The project members have taken part in several conferences and meetings. For example, Anders Jarlert took part in conferences on Sweden and National Socialism at Lidingö and in Lund Sept and April 11, respectively, in the Kirchliche Zeitgeschichte international conference in Seattle, Sept , where the possibility of a final joint conference was discussed, as well as in the CIHEC international conference at Exeter, July

14 Project members Yvonne Maria Werner, Daniel Alvunger and Thomas Björkman presented papers at the project workshop in Münster, March Martin Bergman took part in a conference at Sigtuna, Sept , on changes in the liturgy of the Church of Sweden, Erik Sidenvall took part in the CIHEC international conference at Exeter, July Prof. Jarlert has continued his contacts with Prof. J. Th. M. Bank from the ESF programme Occupation in Europe: the Impact of National Socialism and Fascist Rule (INSFO). This contact will be further developed during Autumn, Further informal meetings have involved members of the Research department of the Church of Sweden. Work package 7 The political commitments of East European Christianity since the Cold War: The Estonian Case There are two levels observed in the work package. First, the official contacts between the churches in East and West, mostly through the ecumenical organisations. Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC) will be examined as an example, starting from 1950s, when official contacts with Western Churches were re-established. The leaders of EELC have been rather active in the international ecumenical organisations, especially Jaan Kiivit senior, who was one of the first presidents of the Conference of European Churches (CEC). Research work on this topic was done by Riho Altnurme, using the Estonian archives. Research trip to United States provided material about the contacts between the Lutheran church at home and in exile. Second, the individual level. The influence of Western culture on the Estonian mentality through contacts with Western Church members became increasingly possible at the end of 1980s. Two case studies, about the aid provided by friendship churches and Christian organisations and the popularity among and the influence on Estonian youth of the Taizé movement are carried out by Lea Altnurme. Sources were collected by her and currently these studies are going to be joined into an analysis of the influence of international contacts at the individual level on the reintegration into Europe of Estonians. Since May 1 the WP has another researcher, Pille Valk. She is carrying out the study about the development of religious instruction in the Estonian schools since The study of the process shows well the position of churches in the Estonian society and also the influence of European integration on the processes inside the Eastern European country as Estonia. The public discussion about the religious instruction in Estonian schools reveals the weak position of the Lutheran church and anticlerical moods in the Estonian society. Comparison of the models of religious education in various European countries shows that Estonia is underdeveloped in this case. Joining EU may improve the position of the churches in the society and the possibilities to teach religious education in schools (contrary to what one might expect). In the WP7 work goes on as planned; besides collecting the sources, the analysis began and also some papers were read and articles published. Thanks to additional sources inside the country we could employ another researcher and therefore we are able to put more stress on the 1990ies. In the next period the results are going to be finalised. Some research trips are still necessary, especially to the Swedish State Archives and the State Archives of the Russian Federation. Lea Altnurme will finish the draft of her doctoral dissertation. The main task will be to formulate the final report. No major revisions to the work programme august 2004 WP-7 will organize the final meeting of CEI in Pyhajarve Hotel near Tartu, Estonia. 14

15 Work package 8 The significance of the Churches for political Changes in Eastern Europe and its theological and social background Christians and the Church played important but diverse roles during the political changes of the late eighties and early nineties in Eastern Europe as well as during the socio-political transition period since the nineties: Some of them supported oppositional groups and took part in the democratically movements, while others were reserved and less enthusiastic about the new political order and cautious about the new governments. Starting from that point WP-8 will attempt to provide an overview about the different developments and attitudes in the Church (and among the different denominations) with regard to the ongoing integration processes in Eastern Europe. Key issues are: dealing with the new political systems (i.e. democracy, rule of law, pluralism, and human rights), role in the civil society, religious and spiritual significance (in the context of secularism, education, values, minority/majority position, theological thinking), reflections about the own past in the communist era, questions of national identity and attitudes on Europe and the European Integration. The work in the work package 8 has started the first of January 2003 and will finish in the end of September Because the available research time is short, it was and is necessary to find an efficient way of researching and presenting the evaluation. The researcher Katharina Kunter has spent the first five months of 2003 by reading literature as well as collecting material and sources about the different developments and attitudes in the Church (and among the different denominations) with regard to the ongoing integration processes in Central and Eastern Europe. More and more focus was made to the case of the Church in the Czech Republik, but special attention was also paid to the Churches in Poland, Slovenia, Hungary and Romania. Information was found in various libraries in Berlin, Munster, Hanover and Prague as well as in some files from private archives in Berlin and in Prague. A series of interviews were made in Prague and Berlin with clerics and ministers who took an active part in the changes and the transitions and with members of the new generation (20-30 years old) who grew up during the transitions and still reflect their attitudes to the church and theology in a changing society. Since June Ms Kunter has began to write a paper in German as a guideline for future researchers in which she has summarized the published literature and papers, official documents, newspaper and magazine articles, informative and important websites and recent publications. Also a list of institutions, universities and other organizations which are also involved in analyzing the Church s role in the transition process after 1988 in Central and Eastern Europe are included. While the paper written for the project is in German the presentations in the CEI Project meetings have taken place in English in order to ensure the access of all project members to the research material. At the same time Ms Kunter has started to work out the case study about the Church in the Czech Republic in German. In this she reflects how the national different denominations specially Catholics and Protestants in the Czech Republic dealt within the changes from the communist to the post communist era; which issues and problems aroused the last 13 years and how the political, social and spiritual role of Church can be described shortly before the entry in the European Union. Special attention is paid to the fact that Christians 15