How identity stole the debate

The document analyzes the tension between two competing sets of European values: 1960s liberal values (such as LGBT rights and feminism) and traditional Christian identity. It argues that populist movements use a 'concocted vision of the past' to frame Islam as culturally incompatible with Europe, while simultaneously ignoring the fact that they have embraced the very liberal values that traditional Christianity rejects. This paradox, combined with laws banning religious symbols to target Islam, results in the further dechristianisation of Europe, turning faith into mere 'folklore'.

• European identity is currently contested by two incompatible sets of values: liberal values from the 1960s cultural revolution (including feminism and LGBT rights) and traditional Christian identity based on millenarian norms.
• Populist movements across Europe, including the People’s Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, The New Right in Denmark, and Alternative for Germany, frame Islam as the primary 'other' and a threat to European identity, despite the diversity of modern immigration.
• There is a contradiction in populist rhetoric where proponents of 'Christian identity' embrace the sexual liberation of the 1960s in their private lives and support gay rights in Northern Europe, while rejecting the universalist and charitable tenets of Christianity.
• Efforts to exclude Islamic symbols from public spaces often result in the removal of Christian symbols or the stripping of their spiritual meaning, thereby accelerating the dechristianisation of Europe.

APA

Roy, O. (2019). How identity stole the debate. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/how-identity-stole-the-debate/

Chicago

Roy, Olivier. How identity stole the debate. Green European Journal, 2019. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/how-identity-stole-the-debate/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Roy |first1=Olivier |title=How identity stole the debate |publisher=Green European Journal |date=21 May 2019 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/how-identity-stole-the-debate/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{roy2019how, author = {Roy, Olivier}, title = {{How identity stole the debate}}, institution = {Green European Journal}, year = {2019}, month = may, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/how-identity-stole-the-debate/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }