The Changing Dynamics of Religion and National Identity: Greece and Ireland in a Comparative Perspective Daphne Halikiopoulou Thesis Submitted for obtaining the degree of PhD European Institute London School of Economics and Political Science Declaration I hereby declare that the work presented in the thesis is my own. Abstract It is widely accepted among secularisation theorists (Wilson 1966,1982; Dobbelaere, 1981; Berger 1981; Bruce, 1999,2002) that the more modern a society becomes, the more likely it is to secularise - i.e. the social and political significance of religion will most likely diminish. At the opposite end of the theoretical debate, scholarly work seeking to explain the recent phenomenon of the re-affirmation of religious values argues that the consequence of modernisation is not secularisation but rather the resurgence of religion (Huntington, 1996; Kepel, 1994; Juergensmeyer, 1993, 2000). With religion gaining salience in some societies but losing ground in others, this ongoing debate appears more critical than ever. The cases of Ireland and Greece are pertinent examples: The Republic of Ireland is experiencing secularising tendencies and the legitimacy of the Church is being increasingly challenged, while in Greece the role of religion remains strong, if not strengthened in recent years, and the legitimacy of the Church is maintained. For secularisation theorists, failure to secularise is likely in instances where there is an explicit link between religion and nationalism- 'Cultural defence' or the 'nationalist pattern' (Martin, 1978). But while both cases constitute instances of cultural defence, Ireland is now secularising. This is precisely the puzzle this thesis is concerned with: where traditionally religion, culture and politics are linked, under what circumstances does religion cease to play a politicised and mobilising role, and under what circumstances is this role retained or even strengthened? This thesis argues that the answer can be found precisely in the nature of the nationalist pattern. Rather than being a monolithic model, there are significant variations within the pattern itself: religious based national identities, like all national identities, are fluid, not static. The dynamics of national identity change are dependent on two interlinked variables: (a) the degree to which a Church obstructs modernisation, and (b) external threat perceptions. This thesis will attempt to illustrate the inter-relationship between the above dynamics through a thematic comparison between Greece and Ireland. This model may be used to explain not only what accounts for the variations between the Greek and Irish cases, but also more generally to identify the conditions under which religion may remain or cease to be politically active and legitimate in societies where secularisation has been inhibited given a strong identification of religion with the nation. Table of Contents Declaration Page 2 Abstract Page 3 Table of Contents Page 4 List of Figures Page? List of Tables PageS List of Images Page 11 Acknowledgements Page 12 Introduction Page 14 Aim and Contribution of the Thesis Page 14 2. The Puzzle Page 18 3. Research Question Page 36 4. Hypothesis Page 37 5. A Model for Explanation Page 38 6. Chapter Outline Page 44 7. Time Frame, Methods and Sources Page 46 Part I Historical Background Page 48 Chapter 1 Theoretical Framework Page 49 1.1 Introduction Page 49 1.2 Existing Explanations and their Limits Page 50 1.3 An additional Dimension: National Identity as a Dynamic Process Page 70 1.4 Conclusion: Religious Nationalism in the Greek and Irish Cases Page 71 Chapter 2 The Origins and Consolidation of the 'Nationalist Pattern' Page 73 2.1 Introduction Page 73 2.2 Origins: Imperial Rule and National Self- Determination Page 73 2.3 Consolidation: Nation-Building and the Institutionalisation of the Role of Religion Page 89 2.4 Conclusion Page 105 4 Part II Contemporary Framework Page 107 Part II Introduction National Identities as Dynamic Processes: Social and Economic Change linked to Modernisation Page 108 1. Introduction Page 108 2. Greece and Ireland: Perceptions of Nationalism and National Identity Page 109 Chapter 3 Church-State Relations and Modernisation: Nationalist Legitimisation versus Moral Monopoly Page 116 3.1 Introduction Page 116 3.2 Conforming versus Non-Conforming Church: The King's Dilemma Page 116 3.3 The Social and Cultural Impact of Economic Modernisation Page 126 3.4 Conclusion Page 141 Chapter 4 External Threat, National identity and Religion Page 143 4.1 Introduction Page 143 4.2 Religion, National Identity and the Concept of External Threat Page 143 4.3 Perceptions of the 'Other'; The Former Empire Page 151 4.4 Perceptions of the 'Other': European Integration Page 161 4.5 Immigration Page 163 4.6 Conclusion Page 170 Chapter 5 Official Discourse and National Identity Reproduction: Education, Historiography and Commemoration Page 171 5.1 Introduction Page 171 5.2 Church, Nation, Education Page 172 5.3 The Structure of the Irish and Greek Education systems Page 173 5. 4 'Moral Monopoly' versus Nationalism Page 175 5.5 History Teaching: Irish and Greek Syllabi in a Comparative Perspective Page 180 5. 6 Content: Greek and Irish History Textbooks in a Comparative Perspective Page 188 5. 7 Education and Revisionist Historiography Page 203 5.8 Commemorations: Memories of War and Key Historical Events Page 208 5.9 Conclusion: Assessing the Impact of Modernisation and Levels of External Threat Perceptions on Official Discourse Page 213 Chapter 6 Church Discourse and Nationalist Mobilisation Page 214 6.1 Introduction Page 214 6.2 Greece: Church, Nation and National Destiny Page 216 6.3 Ireland: Religious Values, Conciliation and Inclusion: A Civic Discourse Page 234 6.4 Church Discourse at Times of Crisis Page 240 6.5 Conclusion Page 251 Conclusion Page 252 1. Introduction Page 252 2. Findings Page 253 3. A Note on the Potential for Reversal of the Patterns Page 261 4. The Contribution of the Thesis and Directions for Future Research Page 265 5. Conclusion Page 269 Bibliography Page 271 List of Figures Introduction Figure 1.0 Trends in weekly Church attendance in the Republic of Ireland, 1968-2003 Page 21 Figure 2.0 The Growth of the Religiously non-Affiliated in the Republic of Ireland, 1975-2003 Page 25 Figure 3.0 The Dynamic Relationship between Religion and National Identity Page 38 Figure 4.0 The Development of the Irish and Greek Patterns Page 42 Chapter 3 Figure 3. 1 Women in the Labour Force- Greece and Republic of Ireland Page 140 Chapter 4 Figure 4.1 Resistance to Immigration Page 150 Figure 4.2 Immigrants as Perceived Collective Threat Page 150 Figure 4.3 Resistance to Diversity/Multicultural Society Page 151 Figure 4.4 Greece Total Population Page 166 Figure 4.5 Composition of Greece's Non-Greek Population (%) Page 166 Figure 4. 6 Ireland Total Population (%) Page 168 Figure 4.7 Composition of Ireland's Non-Irish Population (%) Page 169 Conclusion Figure 1 Potential for Secularisation, Greece and Ireland Page 259 List of Tables Introduction Table 1.0 Ireland and Greece- Similarities and Differences pre-1970's Page 16 Table 2.0 Ireland and Greece- Similarities and Differences post-1970's Page 17 Table 3.0 Weekly or More Frequent Church Attendance in 1994 by Sex, Age Group and Urban-Rural Location (Republic of Ireland) Page 22 Table 4.0 Socio-Demographic Variation in Confidence in the Church (Republic of Ireland) Page 22 Table 5.0 Changes in Human Resources of the Catholic Churchin Ireland, (1970-1955) Page 24 Table 6.0 Changes in Numbers of Vocations to Religious Life, 1996, 1985 and 1996 (Republic of Ireland) Page 24 Table 7.0 Greece: Frequent Church Attendance Increase (1995-2000) Page 29 Table 8.0 A Model for Explanation Page 41 Chapter 1 Table 1.1 The 'Nationalist Pattern' Page 59 Chapter 2 Table 2.1 Variations within the Nationalist Pattern- Greece and Ireland Page 98 Chapter 3 Table 3.1 Co-relation between Church and National Identity- Greece and Ireland Page 109 Table 3.2 The Effects of Modernisation at Various Levels Page 117 Table 3.3 Irish Attitudes to Church and State questions (%) Page 122 Table 3. 4 The Trend in Female Labour Force 8 Participation (Ireland) Page 139 Table 3.5 Women in the Labour Force (%) Page 139 Chapter 4 Table 4.1 Religious identification and Perceptions of the Foundations of Irish Identity in the Republic of Ireland Page 147 Table 4.2 Defence Expenditure in the EU-25 Page 148 Table 4.3 The Result of the Referendum, 22nd May 1998, Republic of Ireland Page 159 Table 4.4 Support for the Elements of the Good Friday Agreement in the Republic of Ireland Page 159 Table 4.5 Greece, Total Population Page 164 Table 4.6 Greek Census, 2001: Population by Nationality Page 164 Table 4.7 Persons usually Resident and Present in the State on Census Night Classified by Nationality 2002 (Republic of Ireland) Page 167 Chapter 5 Table 5.1 The Structure of the Irish Education System Page 174 Table 5.2 The Structure of the Greek Education System Page 175 Table 5.3 People/ Priest Ratio, Republic of Ireland, 1911-1961 Page 176 Table 5.4 Opposition to Divorce, Abortion and homosexuality by Age and Education in the Republic of Ireland Page 178 Table 5.5 Primary History Curriculum, Republic of Ireland Junior Certificate History Syllabus, Republic of Ireland Page 182 Table 5.6 Junior Certificate History Syllabus, Republic of Ireland Page 183 Table 5.7 Leaving Certificate History Syllabus, Republic of Ireland Page 184 Table 5.8 History Curriculum, Greece Page 186 Table 5.9 Lower Secondary, Level 3 history Curriculum, Modern and Contemporary Greek History (1453-20th Century) Page 187 Conclusion Table 1 Variations within the Nationalist Pattern Page 255 Table 2 Wider Applicability of the Model Page 268 10 List of Images Chapter 5 Image 5.1 Entrance of the War Museum, Athens Page 209 Image 5.2 Painting in detail: Bishop Germanos Raises the Standard of Independence at Kalavryta Page 209 Chapter 6 Image 6.1 A Lithograph of L.