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romanian!
I think most people, when they talk about Europe, are talking about civilised values – and that Turkey has failed. Certainly in recent times, its human rights record has been appalling – although that is changing now, under its moderate Muslim government. But the whole history of Europe is extremely bloody, and the main motive for creating the EU after World War II was to establish peace amongst the diverse peoples of Europe. Throughout the Middle Ages, there was warfare between Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Muslim, which apart from destroying many people, came close to wiping out European civilisation altogether. Often the record of Christians from the West was worse than that of Muslims from the East. More recently, there have been certain co-called Christian countries which have not demonstrated those values which the EU would consider to be european - Slovakia, until they rejected the nationalists, Serbia, Albania (Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim respectively).
What are these European values which are so much better than those of some Christians? Do I, a Christian, agree with them?
· Secularism - not the same thing as atheism, but a belief in the separation of Church and State
· Tolerance – joy, even – of diversity
· A belief in modernism over dogma
Good or bad? These things tend to be associated with the town rather than the countryside, along with – modernism, equality for women, diversity of ideas, and a belief in the evolution rather than the fixedness of culture.
