A triumvirate of political leaders recently signed a joint declaration celebrating the culture of more than 451 million people across the 27 countries of the European Union (EU) — but the co-general secretary of the European Evangelical Alliance has lamented their lack of deference for the sacred, saying the gospel witness of churches inspires a greater cultural contribution by witnessing to transcendence, namely that "beauty might point beyond itself."
Jan Wessels, EEA co-general secretary, made the comments after Christian Daily International shared a declaration titled "Europe for Culture, Culture for Europe" signed by the presidents of the European Parliament, Council and Commission on the sidelines of the European Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on June 18.
The declaration stated a shared political commitment to "protecting, promoting and supporting culture in Europe."
"The declaration is genuinely significant," said Wessels.
"It represents the first time the three main EU institutions have jointly committed to placing culture (and not economy) at the heart of European policymaking, and the breadth of the twelve principles — covering everything from artistic freedom and AI governance to heritage and regional cohesion — signals real political ambition. Whether that ambition translates into practice is another question, but the framing matters."
In their joint declaration, the three EU institutions reaffirmed the EU's role in protecting cultural and linguistic diversity and integrating cultural considerations across all EU policies, while respecting national competencies, said a parliamentary press release.
This commitment pledged action in both protecting and promoting artistic freedom, cultural diversity, inclusion and fair conditions for artists. Practically, this means the institutions will further encourage funding, innovation and capacity building, as well as promoting Europe's role as a global cultural and creative leader.
"Europe's story is told through its art, culture and creativity," said Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, after signing the declaration.
"Today's Joint Declaration sends a clear signal that we will continue to place culture at the heart of the European project. By supporting creative minds, protecting artistic freedom and strengthening our cultural and linguistic diversity, we are investing not only in one of Europe's greatest strengths, but also in the millions of people whose talent, innovation and creativity help our societies and economies flourish."
The leaders said that Europe's cultural and creative sectors reaffirmed a shared European identity and values such as freedom, equality and respect for human rights. They also said culture has a key role in addressing contemporary challenges, including geopolitical tensions, climate change, the digital transition, social inequality and the mental health crisis. Other areas shaped by culture and creativity, the parliament release said, include economic growth, innovation, territorial cohesion and environmental sustainability.
"Our culture is at the core of our identity," said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. "As well as being a source of Europe's economic and geopolitical strength. Today, we commit to protecting artistic freedom and making art accessible to all citizens — especially our youth. Culture must remain a force for unity and learning."
Commitments in the declaration for enhancing European culture involved 12 principles including support for artists and cultural professionals, such as fair pay and decent working conditions, and broadening cultural experiences for young, vulnerable or marginalised people.
There is also a commitment to the social and environmental benefits of culture on health, wellbeing and regional development, including sustainable tourism, and a pledge to promote the EU's cultural and linguistic diversity, including protecting the continent's cultural heritage through digital technologies.
"Today's joint declaration recognises the crucial role of culture in shaping European identity," said Nikos Christodoulides, President of the Republic of Cyprus, and President of the Council of Europe until June.
"At a time of geopolitical uncertainty and rapid technological change, investing in artists, cultural heritage and creativity is also an investment in democracy, freedom and the values that bind Europe together. By signing this declaration, we are sending a clear message: culture must be fully integrated into European policymaking as a strategic priority for Europe's future."
'Immanent all the way down'
Reacting to the declaration, Wessels said what struck him most within the stated ideals, plans and promises to promote and protect European culture "is what is absent."
"The entire framework is anthropocentric and instrumentalist: culture serves democracy, competitiveness, wellbeing, identity, geopolitical influence," said Wessels.
"These are not unimportant goods. But there is no account of transcendence, no sense that beauty might point beyond itself, no space for the sacred as a cultural force. The EU's cultural vision is, in theological terms, immanent all the way down."
Wessels said this is precisely where churches have something irreplaceable to contribute — not as a mere lobby group pressing for religious exemptions, but as communities that carry a different account of what culture is for.
"The Christian tradition has always understood culture-making as a response to a calling that exceeds the human: we make because we are made in the image of a Creator," said Wessels.
"That is a substantively different foundation from 'culture boosts GDP and strengthens democratic resilience.'"
Churches are already doing this, Wessels said, "more visibly and more actively than is often recognised."
"Across Europe, evangelical communities are speaking into the public square on polarisation, rising nationalism, justice and peace. One reason we published the EEA statement "European Evangelicals in Public Life: Our Identity and Contribution" is precisely to counter the caricature — increasingly common in media and political discourse — that equates evangelical faith with radical right politics or dangerous extremism," said Wessels.
The statement sets out clearly that European Evangelicals are rooted in a holistic mission: promoting justice, peace, truth and reconciliation, and contributing to the common good, said Wessels.
"It explicitly rejects Christian nationalism in its coercive and exclusionary forms, and affirms a tolerant, civil public square where all worldviews may be expressed freely and respectfully. That is not the profile of communities hiding behind their own subculture."
On the question of subculture more broadly, Wessels said the "binary can mislead us."
"The real issue is not location but thickness. A church that has lost its own cultural imagination, that simply mirrors ambient European values back to itself with a thin spiritual coating, has nothing distinctive to bring to any square, public or otherwise. Conversely, a community with deep roots — in scripture, in liturgy, in a particular place and its people — can speak into the public conversation precisely because it speaks from somewhere real."
Culture from the ground up
As an illustration, Wessels pointed to his wife Beppie, who pastors the Havenkerk in the Schilderswijk neighbourhood of The Hague. The ward is one of the most culturally concentrated in the Netherlands: 25 mosques, 3 Mandirs, and only 2 Protestant/Evangelical churches — with a few other congregations using those buildings, though most are less rooted in the ward itself.
About 90% of residents have a non-Western migration background. The Havenkerk, Wessels said, is not trying to occupy the EU's cultural policy space — it is forming culture from the ground up, among women with a history in prostitution, displaced people, the lonely, the forgotten, the homeless and the poor, in a neighbourhood where the overwhelming majority of residents would never appear in any EU culture statistics.
"That is culture-making of the most serious kind, and it is exactly what the EU declaration cannot produce through its flagship initiatives and funding instruments, however well-intentioned," said Wessels.
He added that the Havenkerk is not exceptional. Across Europe, a growing number of church plants carry precisely this DNA — "what we might call being a 'kerk voor de wijk', a church for its neighbourhood."
"These are communities intentionally contextualising the gospel of Jesus Christ among their actual neighbours, not retreating behind church walls. They are outward-facing by conviction."
Beyond the local church, Wessels stressed the importance of not overlooking the vast ecosystem of para-church organisations serving people far beyond the walls of any congregation. He gave the examples of addiction recovery, refugee support, food banks, anti-trafficking work, education, arts, advocacy, and care for the elderly and disabled.
"The EEA statement documents some of this: from Ukrainian Evangelicals providing around 70% of humanitarian support in the early months of the war, to organisations empowering survivors of sexual exploitation, to networks defending the rights of religious minorities," he said.
"Much of this work is invisible to EU policymakers and uncounted in culture statistics, yet it represents some of the most sustained and effective social and cultural investment happening in European cities and towns."
The EU declaration speaks of enhancing wellbeing, fostering cohesion and reaching the marginalised, said Wessels — but much of that work is "already being done, quietly and faithfully, by organisations motivated not by policy targets but by the love of God for every human being."
Wessels concluded that churches are already contributing to the public cultural square.
"The more pressing challenge is whether European institutions are willing to recognise and partner with what is already there, rather than assuming that culture-making begins with a Brussels declaration," he added.
