The Religious Context in Explaining Public Support for the European Union

This article examines contextual explanations for public support for E uropean integration. Apart from economic and identity‐based theories, there may also be a religious dimension that could help to explain why some countries are principally pro‐ E uropean while others are largely eurosceptic. It is argued that differences between nations are embedded in historical alliances between C atholic and P rotestant denominations and political systems. Hierarchical linear model analyses of data from the E uropean S ocial S urvey ( ESS ) show that: (1) citizens from C atholic countries are more likely to support E uropean unification than the inhabitants of P rotestant countries; and (2) this effect conditions the individual‐level effect of welfare attitudes. This suggests that in P rotestant countries support for welfare redistribution is associated with low support for the EU , while in C atholic countries support for welfare redistribution is associated with high support for the EU .