1] “The dominant feature in creating a common culture between peoples, each of which has its own distinct culture, is religion….I am talking about the common tradition of Christianity which has made Europe what it is, and about the common cultural elements which this common Christianity has brought with it….It is in Christianity that our arts have developed; it is in Christianity the laws of Europe have been rooted. It is against a background of Christianity that all our thought has significance. An individual European may not believe that t Christian Faith is true; and yet what he says, ad makes, and does, will all depend on the Christian heritage for its meaning. Only a Christian culture could have produced a Voltaire or Nietzsche. I do not believe that the culture of Europe could survive the complete disappearance of the Christian Faith.” (T.S. Eliot, 1945)

The idea of culture, of intelligence, of great works, has for us a very ancient connection with the idea of Europe. (Paul Valéry, 1919)

The admission of Turkey would be the end of the European Union. Turkey has a different culture, a different approach, a different way of life … its capital is not in Europe, 95% of its population live outside Europe. It is not a European country.” (Valéry Giscard d’Estaing)

“The core of Europe has been above all molded by spiritual and cultural processes that for nearly two millennia have been centered on religion. Only in the 18th century did secularization gain the upper hand, and even this was largely a rebellious child of religion…. Until modern times it had always been Christianity that had set the tone, and any history of Europe must accordingly pay due attention to the Christian churches and denominations. (Heinz Schelling, 2006)

So there is no single European people. There is no single all-embracing community of culture and tradition among, say, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Berlin and Belgrade. In fact, there are at least four communities: the Northern Protestant, the Latin Catholic, the Greek Orthodox, and the Muslim Ottoman. There is no single language – there are more than twenty. (…) There are no real European political parties (…). And most significantly of all: unlike the United States, Europe still does not have a common story. (Geert Mak, 2005)