The Church and Society Commission is the result of the merger of CEC's work on church and society issues and the European Ecumenical Commission for Church and Society (EECCS), which was completed on 1 January 1999.

Its task is

• to help the churches study church and society questions from a theological and social ethical perspective, especially those with a European dimension;
• to represent the member churches of CEC in their relations with political institutions working in Europe.

Its work programme was adopted by a joint meeting of the Central Committee of CEC and the General Assembly of EECCS in September 1998. Leading up to the CEC Assembly in Trondheim, the Church and Society Plenary evaluated its working mechanisms and methods and suggested a variety of mechanisms to be applied in the future.

A major aspect of the Commission's work so far is undertaken by its Working Groups. It provides the Secretariat for the European Community programme: A Soul for Europe: Ethics and Spirituality.

Working Groups of the Commission

Bioethics: Studying issues raised by the Council of Europe's Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine and bioethical and biotechnological questions coming out of the work and legislation of the European Community.

Contribution to the Euthanasia debate at the Council of Europe, February 2004
‘Human life in our hands? Churches and Bioethics’ Results of a consultation organized by the CEC in Strasbourg, 27-29 Nov. 2003
Program:  "Human Life In Our Hands? The Churches and Bioethics" a CEC Consultation Strasbourg, France, 27-29 November 2003
Draft Project of a Conference on Biotechnology 27 to 29 November 2003 in Strasbourg - France January 2003

Meeting of the Working Group on Bioethics and Biotechnology, 28 February - 1 March 2003


Previous and current work on bio-ethics:
Update on the working group on Bioethics
Genetic Testing and Predictive Medicine, October 2003
Xenotransplantation, (report, June 2002)
Genetically Modified Food, (report, January 2002)
A brief presentation of the Working Group on Bioethics (January 2002)
A Theological Framework for Bioethics (position paper, January 2002) Therapeutic Uses of Cloning and Embryonic Stem Cells (position paper, September 2000)
Patentability of the Human Genome (letter to EU Council of Ministers, June 2000)
EECCS and Bioethics (position paper, June 1998)
Cloning Animals and Humans (position paper, May 1998)
Medically Assisted Procreation after 20 years (position paper, 1998)
Patenting of Biotechnological Inventions (position paper, March 1998)
Critique of the Draft EC Patenting Directive (position paper, October 1996)
Medically Assisted Procreation and the Protection of the Human Embryo (position paper, 1996)

Economic, Environmental and Social Issues: Examining the relationship between the economic system and environmental and social policies, especially with regard to the specific policies of the European institutions and economies in transition.
Sustainable Development and the European Union-The Need to Develop New Strategies and New Lifestyles. Report of the working group on Economy, Ecology and Social Issues - May 2002 Papers by former EECCS:
Sustainable development and the market economy: integrating environment in EU-economic and employment policies. - January 2000 (Part II, click here)
The dominant economic model and sustainable development: are they compatible? - June 1995

European Community Legislation: Responding to European Community legislation which may have a direct impact on the life and work of the churches, including legislation against discrimination and the proposed European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights.

European Integration: Helping the churches to reflect on the process of European integration and to respond to questions linked with the enlargement of the European Union, the reform of the Union's institutions and future relationships between European countries inside and outside the Union.
Statement on the occasion of the EU enlargement - May 2004
European Parliament Elections - March 2004
Discussion paper, Churches in the Process of European Integration - May 2001

Human Rights and Religious Freedom: Promoting study and action by the churches on questions of human rights and religious freedom, including the relationship between church and state.
Meeting of the Working Group on Human Rights and Religious Freedom, Brussels, 21 to 23 February 2003
Conclusions of the Seminar on Church-State Relations in the Light of the Exercise of the Right to Freedom of Religion, Council of Europe, December 2001
CEC Contribution to the European Ministerial Conference on Human Rights, November 2000

North-South Issues: Ensuring that the common witness of the European churches is not confined to Europe, by looking at the wider global context of trade, aid and development policies, debt relief and the negotiations within world bodies such as the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
European Social Market Economy - an alternative model for globalisation? July 2002

Peace-Building in Security: Treating questions such as the security architecture of Europe, conflict prevention and resolution, arms control, terrorist and paramilitary groups, common and comprehensive security, ethnicity, religion and conflict.
A PAN-EUROPEAN SECURITY COMMUNITY, April 2002