Europe divided by
gender roles
The unification of Europe under one
common constitution proved to be a
difficult project. Regional gender role
variations are pointed out as one of the
obstacles on the road to a new constitution,
and researchers blame religion.
Researcher Jan Erik Grindheim of the Department of Comparative
Politics at the University of Bergen and Professor Kari Elisabeth Børresen
of the University of Oslo are coordinating a new research project which
looks into the connection between religion and gender role patterns
in Europe. The project, which is currently awaiting EU funding, is
a collaboration between researchers from 11 European universities. Participants come from a large European network where we are looking
into the differences in gender role patterns between the European
countries, and how these differences can be explained by the ways in
which the patterns are constructed on the basis of a religious perspective.
The project has already received top evaluation for relevance in EU’s
Sixth Framework Programme.
It is common knowledge that there are differences between religions
when it comes to views on gender roles and the rights of women.
"There are differing opinions about women’s place in society, both
among present and potential EU members, and this European gender
role pattern follows religious dividing lines.”
There is a direct causal relationship between the interpretation of
religious texts and gender equality politics, according to Jan Erik
Grindheim. He feels that gender roles may be a more important source
of conflict in the constitution debate than the more traditional political
areas.
"The financial issues are not the most difficult ones, for capitalism
will always find a way. The major challenges lie in people’s different
perspectives on human life, and especially in their views on women’s
rights.
These differences in people’s views on women are so great that they will
pose problems for the EU constitution project,” says Mr Grindheim.
