The Two Europes

In pursuit of the question of European identity, this paper applies Ramón Menéndez Pidal's idea of the two Spains to the whole of Europe, setting up the contrast between traditional and modernist Europe. Though the most traditionalist societies have usually engaged in various forms of “updating,” and most modernists wish some connection with the past, the dividing line between the Two Europes was the Enlightenment and French Revolution. On the one side we have the “pious,” those who want to retain much of the past and walk in their fathers’ footsteps. Commonly these either are religious or tolerant of religion. On the other side we have those trying to create a new cultural space separated from some ancien régime. Often these are hostile to religion. Though probably Southern Europe is more traditionalist than Northern, the two Europes are found across Europe intermingled. The goal of this essay is to delineate the nature of each of the two Europes.