Greek National Identity: Religious Minorities, Rights, and European Norms

The process of Greece's Europeanization, evident in its membership in the European Community and its adherence to the regional human rights instrument, is impeded by its deviance from European norms. This is particularly striking in the area of religious freedom, where Greece, in violation of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, restricts the rights of religious minorities. The constitutional prohibition of proselytism and a host of administrative, legislative, and judicial acts severely limit religious practice, especially that of Jehovah's Witnesses and Evangelicals. The difficulty Greece confronts in implementing religious freedom stems from its conception of Greekness, which is understood as an organic whole in which Greek Orthodoxy, the éthnos, and the state are a unity. This is buttressed, in turn, by a judicial philosophy of legal positivism. Violations of religious rights are dramatic; in addition, the ideological and legal foundations exist for potential restrictions of numerous individual rights. If Greece is to integrate into the European Community, a transformation of the notion of Greekness is essential.