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Introduction

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Morality Politics in a Secular Age

Part of the book series: Comparative Studies of Political Agendas ((CSPA))

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Abstract

The introduction identifies the paradox of religion and morality policies in contemporary European societies. Northern, Continental, and Southern Europe have all experienced secularization trends leading to fewer church members, a shrinking religious population, and the disempowerment of churches as political actors. Yet despite these trends, we see instances in which public policies related to religious values gain strong political and societal attention, particularly in countries of the so-called religious world. What factors drive these oscillating attention patterns across policies and countries, and what is the role of religion in them? The introduction briefly summarizes the main argument, identifies the literature to which the book contributes, and outlines the structure of the following chapters.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geschwister-Scholl-Institut für Politikwissenschaft, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, Germany

    Eva-Maria Euchner

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  1. Eva-Maria Euchner
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Euchner, EM. (2019). Introduction. In: Morality Politics in a Secular Age. Comparative Studies of Political Agendas. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10537-2_1

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