The Godless Crusade

Religion, Populism and Right-Wing Identity Politics in the West

AvTobias Cremer

Häftad, Engelska, 2023

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Beskrivning

This book postulates that the rise of right-wing populism in the West and its references to religion are less driven by a resurgence of religious fervour, than by the emergence of a new secular identity politics. Based on exclusive interviews with 116 populist leaders, key policy makers and faith leaders in the USA, Germany, and France, it shows how right-wing populists use Christianity as a cultural identity marker of the 'pure people' against external 'others' while often remaining disconnected from Christian values, beliefs, and institutions. However, right-wing populists' willingness and ability to employ religion in this way critically depends on the actions of mainstream party politicians and faith leaders. They can either legitimise right-wing populists' identitarian use of religion or challenge it, thereby cultivating 'religious immunity' against populist appeals. As the populist wave breaks across the West, a new debate about the role of religion in society has begun.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2023-03-30
Mått:152 x 229 x 19 mm
Vikt:468 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:350
Förlag:Cambridge University Press
ISBN:9781009262149

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Mer om författaren

Tobias Cremer is a Junior Research Fellow at Pembroke College, and an Associate Member of the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the relationship between religion, secularisation and the rise of right-wing identity politics. He is the co-author of Faith, Nationalism and the Future of Liberal Democracy (2021).

Recensioner i media

'Cremer's argument must be taken seriously by scholars of religion and politics and anyone concerned about the rise of right-wing Populism. … Recommended.' R. J. Meagher, Choice

Innehållsförteckning

1. Introduction: the new crusaders; Part I. Foundations: 2. Definitions, methods, cases and sources; 3. A fourfold argument: the identity cleavage, the secular right, religious immunity, and Christian leadership; Part II. The German Churches and the AfD: Debunking Populist Sanctimony: 4. Christianity and democracy in Germany after WWII: from a marriage of convenience to happily ever after?; 5. The advent of the AfD in the context of the new identity cleavage; 6. Defenders of the faith? The AfD's Christian credentials under scrutiny; 7. Religious immunity: voting behaviour and the Church's social firewall; Part III. French Catholicism between the RN and laicité: between the devil and the dark blue sea: 8. La République Laïque vs. La France Catholique: the rise and decline of French 'Catho-Laïcité'; 9. France's new identity cleavage and the rise of the far right; 10. La fille ainée de l'Église? Christianism and secularism in the French populist right; 11. A successful dédiabolisation? Factors in understanding the weakening of religious immunity to populism in France; Part IV. A Faustian bargain? American Christianity and Trumpism.12. 'A Nation under God'? American civil religion between the wall of separation and Christian nationalism; 13. The new social cleavage: from religious culture wars to white identity politics; 14. The Saviour of Christian America? Trumpism's Christian credentials through the lens of the cultural-ethical triangle; 15. A Faustian bargain? Understanding white Christian support for Trump; Part V. Conclusion: 16. Squaring the circle: four cornerstones of a general theory of the relationship between right-wing populism and religion in the West; 17. Democracy after God? Faith, populism and the future of liberal democracy; Bibliography; Appendix A; Appendix B.