In the conference rooms of the European Union's headquarters,
11 men and 2 women, several of them former prime ministers,
debated whether or not the European Union's future
constitution, currently being drafted section-by- section,
should include a reference to the Divine.
On a continent where church attendance is a fraction of
American levels and where invocations of G-d, common in
political speeches in the United States, are rare, the task
is a tricky one.
Although most of the European Continent commonly celebrates
religious holidays as national days off, references to
religion, according to many European secularists, do not
belong in classrooms or government offices, much less the
highest legal text of the land.
The committee must draft a text that will form the basis of
Article 2 of the future constitution, a paragraph reserved
for a statement of European "values."
The debate is of keen interest to the Roman Catholic Church,
which has lobbied for a reference to G-d, as well as
organizations of Jews, Muslims and Protestants.
Supporters of a reference to G-d include delegates from
Poland, Italy, Germany and Slovakia, some of whom have
proposed the following text, "The union values include the
values of those who believe in G-d as the source of truth,
justice, good and beauty as well as of those who do not share
such a belief but respect these universal values arising from
other sources."
Opponents of the wording include delegates from France, the
Netherlands, Spain and the Nordic countries.
The issue is described as one of the most controversial at
the convention.
Among some French delegates, a reference to G-d is seen as a
throwback to the past and a breach of the "sacred" principle
of a clear separation of Church and state that keeps religion
out of politics.
But in Poland, a heavily Roman Catholic country where the
Church kept national aspirations alive under the Communist
system, a reference to G-d in the European constitution would
serve as a tribute to the Church's role of resistance during
Poland's decades as a Soviet satellite.
In Spain, a reference to G-d evokes the years under Franco,
where coins were stamped with the dictator's profile, ringed
by the words "Leader of Spain by the grace of G-d."
"I think there's an embarrassment to admitting to religious
belief in our modern culture," said John Bruton, a former
Irish prime minister and a member of the presidium.
