Europe and Christian values

Madam, - A letter from Owen Sorensen (December 4th) claims that "Europe was founded on the values of Christian civilisation". …

Madam, - A letter from Owen Sorensen (December 4th) claims that "Europe was founded on the values of Christian civilisation". Yet the liberal and democratic values he cites - such as equality of the sexes, anti-racism and freedom of speech - are nowhere to be found in the fundamental texts and tenets of the Christian tradition.

It is a spectacularly ahistorical interpretation to claim that these are the values on which Europe is founded. A brief glimpse at the past few centuries of European history and the role that the "Christian tradition" played in the continent's wars and atrocities belies this interpretation completely.

It is time for all Europeans to move away from selective interpretations of the past and to look forward to a vision of a more harmonious and respectful European future, regardless of its various religious traditions. - Yours, etc,

CLAIRE HEALY, Mountpleasant Terrace, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.