Norman Davies on references to God in the EU constitution

The Polish government wants a statement on Christianity to be included in the preamble to the European constitution. In an interview with Katarzyna Janowska and Piotr Mucharski, British historian and Poland expert Norman Davies rejects this idea. "To talk of a Christian Europe is to talk in terms of stereotypes. What does Christian mean? I expect Poles use the term to refer to the Latin civilisation. It seems to me that the Poles are forgetting that the Orthodox Church is also Christian. Is Greece part of Europe? And is it Catholic? ... Moreover, the Christian religion never had a monopoly and still doesn't have one. Islam has been a presence on the European continent since the 8th century. There are European countries that are predominantly Muslim. Jews have lived here for 2,000 years. Therefore we should be a little more subtle when we reflect on Europe's roots."

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