Do Christian symbols cross the line in Europe ?

Gruber, Ruth Ellen . Washington Jewish Week ; Gaithersburg [Gaithersburg]25 Feb 2010: 21.

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ABSTRACT (ABSTRACT)
There is "an increasing identity neurosis in the European nation-states," Swedish Jewish writer Goran Rosenberg
said. "To counter this neurosis, a pluralistic narrative of Europe's identity is essential."
Christianity, it said, "represents the roots of our culture, what we are today." The display of the crucifix in schools
"should not be seen so much for its religious meaning, but as reference to the history and tradition of Italy," the
brief said.
"I consider this a battle to affirm our identity," he said this week in the Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore
Romano. "The government intends to uphold the right by which every sovereign state has to be free and continue
to be so in deciding how to reconcile the secular with the sacred, in accordance with its history and culture."

FULL TEXT
ROME - Is the cross purely a religious sign or a symbol of national heritage?
The question is part of an ongoing debate over European identity that has taken on increasing significance in
recent years with the influx of Muslims and other immigrants into Europe.
Muslim immigration in particular has prompted many countries to debate whether attitudes toward their Christian
symbols, which some European states display on their flags, need to adapt to reflect the new multiethnic nature of
their societies.
On the flip side, some have argued that more than ever, Europe now needs to cling to its traditional, national
symbols and reassert its Christian origins.
There is "an increasing identity neurosis in the European nation-states," Swedish Jewish writer Goran Rosenberg
said. "To counter this neurosis, a pluralistic narrative of Europe's identity is essential."
The debate is not new.
In the early 2000s, Italy, the Vatican and several other states tried unsuccessfully to have an explicit reference to
Europe's "Christian roots" included in a planned but never implemented constitution for the 27-nation European
Union.
The debate was reignited in November when the European Court of Human Rights, or ECHR, ruled that the display
of crucifixes in Italian public school rooms is a violation of religious freedom.
The case had been brought by a mother of two near Venice who had fought the case unsuccessfully in the Italian
justice system for nine years. After a storm of protest in Italy and other countries, the Italian government officially
appealed the ruling at the end of January, filing a toughly worded brief that defined the crucifix as "one of the
symbols of our history and our identity."
Christianity, it said, "represents the roots of our culture, what we are today." The display of the crucifix in schools
"should not be seen so much for its religious meaning, but as reference to the history and tradition of Italy," the
brief said.
The debate has posed a dilemma for Europe's Jews. Some see it as an opportunity to assail the use of Christian
symbols in official state forums, such as courthouses, as problematic, while others acknowledge that the symbols
have a national as well as religious nature.
"The cross is certainly more than a religious symbol," Rosenberg said. "It appears for instance in many national
flags - Sweden, Denmark, Finland and others - and is thus part of the national landscape to an extent that we tend

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not to see it."
But Lisa Palmieri Billig, the American Jewish Committee's liaison with the Vatican, argues that using Christian
icons as symbols of national identity can be dangerous.
"To transform the cross, or any other religious symbol, into a symbol of national identity voids it of its spiritual
significance and feeds currents of extreme nationalism," she said.
"Keeping the apparatus of religion and state separate guarantees the freedom and independence of both," she
said. "By nationalizing the cross, the road is paved for future conflict with the growing European Islamic
population."
Far from being "part of Italy's cultural tradition," the presence of crosses in Italian public schools dates from a 1929
agreement between the Vatican and the fascist regime that regulated religious practice in the country, according
to Palmieri Billig.
Italy has not had any official state religion since a 1984 reform.
When Italy appealed the European court ruling against the display of crucifixes in Italian public schools, Foreign
Minister Franco Frattini characterized the case as one of national selfdetermination in the face of European
integration.
"I consider this a battle to affirm our identity," he said this week in the Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore
Romano. "The government intends to uphold the right by which every sovereign state has to be free and continue
to be so in deciding how to reconcile the secular with the sacred, in accordance with its history and culture."
European countries differ widely on issues of church-state separation.
France, for example, is strictly secular. A 2004 law banned students from wearing the Muslim headscarf or other
religious symbols in public schools. Last month, a parliamentary panel called for a ban on women wearing the full
Muslim face veil in government offices, on mass transit and in public hospitals.
In England, Anglicanism is the established state church, with the monarch its titular head, though church
attendance is very low in the country.
All over Europe, public crosses and other Christian symbols - from roadside chapels to civic monuments to
national flags - are so ubiquitous that their religious meaning can be forgotten.
After last fall's court ruling against the Italian crucifixes, Poland voiced some of the loudest protest. The Polish
parliament even passed a special resolution defending the cross as something "that has accompanied Poland
throughout its history."
Catholicism long has been regarded as part of Polish ethnic identity. During the postwar communist era, the
Catholic Church stood as a bulwark against the communist regime, and even some Jews attended church as an
anti-communist political statement.
"To question the presence of crosses in public places would go against the Polish tradition," said Stanislaw
Krajewski, a Polish Jewish intellectual active in interfaith dialogue.
Since the fall of communism, however, Polish nationalists have used the cross to promote their own agendas -
most infamously in 1998, when ultra-nationalists planted hundreds of crosses at Auschwitz. This was meant to
symbolize the site's Polishness and reclaim what the ultranationaliste branded a Jewish monopoly on martyrdom.
The crosses remained in place for 11 months until they were removed in a police raid.
Despite such episodes, the Polish Jewish writer and activist Konstanty Gebert said he generally has no problems
with crosses and Christian symbols in outdoor public spaces.
"When you are in Europe, you see crosses all over the place; it's a natural thing," he said. "They are testimony to our
collective past, and since our collective past is largely Christian, it is normal."
Gebert said he does believe in some red lines, however. He said he is "very uncomfortable about any religious
symbols" displayed in an indoor public space, especially spaces such as courtrooms, where "there should be no
other symbol except that of the state."
Krajewski said he was used to the presence of Christian symbols in Poland, though "of course I would prefer no
crosses in places that should be equally welcoming every citizen."

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However, he added, "The public display of religion is so rooted that it has nonstandard consequences as well. I
have not heard about any protests against the public display of a huge Chanukah menorah initiated by Chabadniks
in Warsaw a few years ago and now a standard event."
Sidebar

The cross is certainly more than a religious symbol, It appears for instance in many national flags... .'
Sidebar

A European court reignited the debate over public displays of the cross, like this one here at a pharmacy in Morre,
Italy.
AuthorAffiliation

by Ruth Ellen Gruber

JTA News and Features

DETAILS

Subject: Symbols; Christianity; European Currency Unit; Culture; Flags

Location: Europe

Ethnicity: Jewish

Publication title: Washington Jewish Week; Gaithersburg

Volume: 46

Issue: 8

Pages: 21

Number of pages: 1

Publication year: 2010

Publication date: Feb 25, 2010

Publisher: Washington Jewish Week

Place of publication: Gaithersburg

Country of publication: United States

Publication subject: Ethnic Interests, Religions And Theology--Judaic, Jewish

ISSN: 07469373

Source type: Newspapers

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 Language of publication: English

Document type: News

Document feature: Photographs

ProQuest document ID: 220903335

Document URL: https://search.proquest.com/docview/220903335?accountid=17215

Copyright: Copyright Washington Jewish Week Feb 25, 2010

Last updated: 2011-10-26

Database: ProQuest Central

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