Consulting and compromising: the (non-)religious policy preferences of British MEPs

Abstract

The United Kingdom (UK) provides an important case study when analysing the influence of religious attitudes and values on political behaviour in the European Union. Our research shows British Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to be relatively at ease working with the different faith-based organisations which seek to influence the European policy process-and much more so than many of their colleagues from other member states. This can potentially be explained by the more 'pluralist' political culture which is prevalent in the UK, and can also be related to the comparatively high rates of non-church attendance amongst the British sample which facilitates their even-handedness towards different groups. This, in turn, produces a resistance to allowing religious factors to disproportionately influence European policymaking.