God and Foreign Policy: The Religious Divide Between the U.S. and Europe

Javier Solana of the European Union defines as a “cultural phenomenon” the distinctly American tendency to view international events through a strict religious lens of morality. In a recent interview with the Financial Times, he contrasted the U.S. “binary model” with the more nuanced world view of Europeans, stating that for Americans, “It is all or nothing. For us Europeans, it is difficult to deal with because we are so secular. We do not see the world in such black and white terms.”

Is Solana right? Do Europeans speak a different language about religion and God? How does this affect our understanding of each other?

Drawing from the results of opinion polls conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, the Pew Research Center, and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, a panel of experts will investigate the divide between the European and American perspectives as well as the implications for U.S. foreign policy and U.S.-European relations.