Hurd's Article

Hurd does something very interesting in her paper. She begins by claiming to examine the "cultural basis of European opposition to Turkish accession to the EU" but ends up blending the boundaries between religious influences and politics and culture. Generally, she claims, Western views towards religion is secular -- the separation of church and state -- and so the West views religious influences as incompatible in the realm of politics. Her whole paper, however, seems to revolve around binary relationships with religion. For example, without religion, there would be no secular state. Simply choosing to separate religion from politics is a policy choice, and so involves religion. She also lets on that it is religious history that makes up a national identity and culture.

One particular passage I found intriguing was Hurd's description of the laicist view of Turkey's accession to the EU, that it "will progress incrementally through a series of stages of development, culminating in its full "Europeanisation." Considering that the basis of the laicist view is the "attempt to purge religion from politics" and "state control of religious institution and expression," I thought it ironic and necessary to point out that this concept of "Europeanisation" is much reminiscent of the process of "civilization" in the colonial era, and the quest to spread Christianity to less civilized populations. The simple attempt to purge religion from politics and to control it in such a manner is allowing religion to influence policy. Forcing such policies on others is no better than telling a person how he or she must think about religion -- it's just put into a political context.