The governance of religion in Europe: mapping religious accommodation in the EU

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5209/anqe.101771
Keywords: Religious Accommodation, Religious Governance, EU, Secularism

Abstract

This article analyses and presents religious accommodation as a mechanism for studying religious governance in Europe through the comparative inclusion of several religious minorities. It addresses the theoretical discourse generated by various disciplines to comprehend the issue from a multidisciplinary perspective and translate it into a more practical realm. It proposes a definition for Governmental Religious Accommodation, operationalised through proxy variables from the Religion and the State and the Global Restrictions on Religion datasets, reflecting three empirical areas of the concept (materials, practices, and rights). These undergo a Multiple Correspondence Analysis, which enables us to define and link the dimensions with their theoretical significance and the categorisation of countries. The results illustrate the general accommodation policies of countries, identifying Portugal as the nation with the most favourable policy and Bulgaria as the one with the most restrictive policy.

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Author Biographies

Paula M. Arana Barbier, University of Heidelberg

Dr Paula M. Arana Barbier is a Postdoctoral fellow at the Max Weber Institute for Sociology at the Universität Heidelberg. She holds a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences in Governance from the University of Freiburg, Germany. She also received her Master's Degree in Political Sciences and her PhD in Rule of Law and Global Governance from the University of Salamanca. Her research focuses on religious accommodation, ethnic minorities, religion and politics, Europe, migration, and religious pluralism.

Ángela Suárez Collado, Universidad de Salamanca

Dr Ángela Suárez-Collado is an Associate Professor at the University of Salamanca's Political Science and Public Administration Department. She holds a BA in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Granada, a MA in International Mediterranean Studies and a PhD in Arab and Islamic Studies from the Autonomous University of Madrid. Before joining Salamanca University, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg-Centre for Global Cooperation Research (Germany). Dr Suárez-Collado has been a visiting researcher at Georgetown University, Oxford University, the College of Europe in Brugge, and the Centre Jacques Berque pour le Développement des Sciences Humaines et Sociales au Maroc. She has participated in various international and national research projects. Her research focuses on social movements and local politics in North Africa and Moroccan migration in Europe.

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Published
2025-07-02
How to Cite
Arana Barbier P. M. y Suárez Collado Á. (2025). The governance of religion in Europe: mapping religious accommodation in the EU. Anaquel de Estudios Árabes, 36(2), 185-197. https://doi.org/10.5209/anqe.101771
Issue
Vol. 36 No. 2 (2025)
Section
Articles

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