Finding Religion: Immigration and the Populist (Re)Discovery of Christian Heritage in Western and Northern Europe

Abstract

Why and in what ways do far-right discourses engage with religion in geographies where religious belief, practice, and public influence are particularly low? This article examines religion’s salience in the rhetoric of leading right-wing populist parties in eight European countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Based on a qualitative content analysis of various documents such as party programmes, websites, election manifestos, reports, and speeches of their leadership, the article offers insight into the functions that Christianist discourses serve for anti-immigration stances. The findings are threefold: first, they confirm previous research suggesting that while these parties embrace Christianity as a national/civilizational heritage and identity, they are also careful to avoid references to actual belief or practice. Second, the data suggests, their secularized take on Christianity rests not simply on the omission of theological content, but also on the active framing Christianity itself as an inherently secular and progressive religion conducive to democracy. Third, and finally, they starkly contrast this notion of Christianity with Islam, believed to be incompatible due to its alleged backward and violent qualities. Emphasizing religio-cultural hierarchies—rather than ethno-racial ones—plays an indispensable role in presenting a more palatable form of boundary-making against immigrants, and helps these parties mainstream by giving their nativist cause a liberal and enlightened aura. Preliminary comparisons with traditional conservative parties, moreover, reveal that while some of the latter partially embraced a similar nativism, variations remain across countries.

The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis and the Politics of Public Opinion: Evidence from Hungary

“…In addition to the administrative, logistical, and ethical challenges that receiving countries like Hungary faced during the 2015 refugee crisis, the arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa in Europe prompted new questions about European identity (Ammaturo 2019). Subsequent analyses focus on its implications for nationalism and national identities (Schenk 2021), for religious identity and the politics of religion (Schmiedel and Smith 2018;Peker 2022), and through a lens of racialization (Rexhepi 2018;Burrell and Hörschelmann 2019).…”

Связь Субъективной Религиозности С Антииммигрантскими Установками В Европе: Анализ На Основе Данных Европейского Социального Исследования (ESS)

“…При этом фактор религии стал играть важнейшую роль в антииммигрантской риторике в европейском контексте: установление религиозно культурных иерар хий представляется более «приемлемой» границей при обсуждении иммигрантов, чем этнорасовые различия [Peker, 2022]. Противостояние иммигрантов и прини мающего населения вместе с активной антииммигрантской риторикой правых популистских партий в ряде европейских стран [Yılmaz, 2012] актуализирова ло необходимость более детального изучения связи религиозности и антиимми грантских установок.…”