Hostname: page-component-6bb9c88b65-s7dlb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-07-22T20:55:05.485Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Religious Vaccination? How Christian Communities React to Right-Wing Populism in Germany, France and the US

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2021

Tobias Cremer Open the ORCID record for Tobias Cremer [Opens in a new window]
Tobias Cremer*
Affiliation:
Pembroke College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: tobias.cremer@pmb.ox.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Right-wing populists across Western democracies have markedly increased references to Christianity in recent years. While there is much debate about how and why they have done so, less attention has been paid to how Christian communities react to this development. The present study addresses this gap through a comparative analysis of Christian responses to right-wing populist politics in Germany, France and the US. It relies on quantitative studies, survey data and the qualitative analysis of 39 in-depth interviews with right-wing populist leaders, mainstream party politicians and church officials. The findings of this analysis suggest a potential ‘religious vaccination effect’ among Christian voters against right-wing populism but underline its connection to elite actor behaviour. Specifically, the availability of a ‘Christian alternative’ in the party system, as well as religious leaders’ willingness and ability to create a social taboo around the populist right seem critically to impact religious immunity to populism.

Keywords

Right-wing populismreligionnationalismvoting behavioursecularizationTrump

Information

Type
Article
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 58 , Issue 1 , January 2023 , pp. 162 - 182
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Government and Opposition Limited

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Abramowitz, AI and Webster, SW (2018) Negative Partisanship: Why Americans Dislike Parties but Behave like Rabid Partisans. Political Psychology 39, 119–135. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alexander, C (2016) A Declaration by American Evangelicals Concerning Donald Trump. Change.org petition. www.change.org/p/donald-trump-a-declaration-by-american-evangelicals-concerning-donald-trump.Google Scholar
Almeida, D (2017) Exclusionary Secularism: The Front National and the Reinvention of laïcité. Modern & Contemporary France 25(3), 249–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/09639489.2016.1272561.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Althoff, A (2018) Right-Wing Populism and Religion in Germany: Conservative Christians and the Alternative for Germany (AfD). Zeitschrift für Religion, Gesellschaft und Politik 2(2), 335–363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41682-018-0027-9.Google Scholar
Arzheimer, K and Berning, CC (2019) How the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Their Voters Veered to the Radical Right, 2013–2017. Electoral Studies 60, 102040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2019.04.004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arzheimer, K and Carter, E (2009) Christian Religiosity and Voting for West European Radical Right Parties. West European Politics 32(5), 985–1011. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402380903065058.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barber, M and Pope, J (2019) Does Party Trump Ideology? Disentangling Party and Ideology in America. American Political Science Review 113(1), 38–54. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055418000795.Google Scholar
Barna, G (2019) Faith Leadership in a Divided Culture. Barna Group, 29 January. www.barna.com/research/pastors-speaking-out/.Google Scholar
Beinart, P (2017) Breaking Faith: The Culture War over Religious Morality has Faded; in its Place is Something Much Worse. Atlantic, April. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/04/breaking-faith/517785/.Google Scholar
Bennett, D, Cahlan, S, Davis, A and Lee, J (2020) The Crackdown Before Trump's Photo Op. Washington Post, 8 June. www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2020/06/08/timeline-trump-church-photo-op/?arc404=true.Google Scholar
Beyerlein, K and Ryan, P (2018) Religious Resistance to Trump: Progressive Faith and the Women's March on Chicago. Sociology of Religion 79(2), 196–219. https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/sry015.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bornschier, S (2012) Why a Right-Wing Populist Party Emerged in France but not in Germany: Cleavages and Actors in the Formation of a New Cultural Divide. European Political Science Review 4(1), 121–145. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755773911000117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brubaker, R (2017) Between Nationalism and Civilizationism: The European Populist Moment in Comparative Perspective. Ethnic and Racial Studies 40(8), 1191–1226. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2017.1294700.Google Scholar
Campbell, DE and Putnam, RD (2011) America's Grace: How a Tolerant Nation Bridges its Religious Divides. Political Science Quarterly 126(4), 611–640. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-165X.2011.tb00714.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carney, TP (2019) Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse. New York: HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Chaves, M (2011) American Religion Contemporary Trends. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Cremer, T (2018) Defenders of the Faith: Why Right-Wing Populists are Embracing Religion. New Statesman, 20 May. www.newstatesman.com/2018/05/defenders-faith-0.Google Scholar
Cremer, T (2021) Nations under God: How Church–State Relations Shape Christian Responses to Right-Wing Populism in Germany and the United States. Religions 12(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12040254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dargent, C (2016) Les catholiques français et le Front national. Études 12, 19–30. https://doi.org/10.3917/etu.4233.0019.Google Scholar
de Jonge, L (2019) The Success and Failure of Right-Wing Populist Parties in the Benelux. PhD thesis, University of Cambridge.Google Scholar
Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (2016) Bischöfe: AfD nicht mit christlichem Glauben vereinbar. Deutsche Bischofskonferenz (DBK). www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/katholische-bischoefe-distanzieren-sich-von-der-afd-14917396.html.Google Scholar
Douglas, M (2003) Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dreher, R (2017) The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
Du Cleuziou, YR (2019) Une contre-révolution catholique: Aux origines de la Manif pour tous. Paris: Le Seuil.Google Scholar
EKD (2015) Zur aktuellen Situation der Flüchtlinge. Evangelische Kirche Deutschland. static.evangelisch.de/get/?daid=CuHJjg3NFHgLFUAr_L0MIZoH00118099&dfid=download.Google Scholar
Ekins, E (2018) Religious Trump Voters: How Faith Moderates Attitudes about Immigration, Race, and Identity. Washington, DC: Democracy and Voter Study Group. www.cato.org/publications/public-opinion-brief/religious-trump-voters-how-faith-moderates-attitudes-about.Google Scholar
Elcott, D et al. (2021) Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy. Notre Dame: Notre Dame University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evangelisch.de (2018) Bedford-Strohm: AfD-Spitze im ‘Widerspruch zum christlichen Glauben’. www.evangelisch.de/inhalte/154324/23-12-2018/bedford-strohm-afd-spitze-im-widerspruch-zum-christlichen-glauben.Google Scholar
Falter, J (1991) Hitlers Wähler. Munich: Beck.Google Scholar
FAZ (2016) AfD-Stellvertreter Gauland ‘Wir sind keine christliche Partei’. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/fluechtlingskrise/alexander-gauland-betrachtet-afd-nicht-als-christlich-14250064.html.Google Scholar
Focus (2017) ‘Rolle wie im Dritten Reich’: AfD-Weidel erhebt schwere Vorwürfe gegen die Kirche. Focus, 25 December. www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/alice-weidel-afd-fraktionschefin-erhebt-schwere-vorwuerfe-gegen-die-kirche_id_8036449.html.Google Scholar
Fourquet, J (2018) À la droite de Dieu: Le réveil identitaire des catholiques. Paris: Les éditions du Cerf.Google Scholar
Fourquet, J and Le Bras, H (2014) La religion dévoilée: Nouvelle cartographie du catholicisme. Jean Jaurès Foundation. https://jean-jaures.org/nos-productions/la-religion-devoilee-une-nouvelle-geographie-du-catholicisme.Google Scholar
Galli, M (2019) Trump Should Be Removed from Office. Christianity Today, 19 December. www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/december-web-only/trump-should-be-removed-from-office.html.Google Scholar
Gaston, S and Hilhorst, S (2018) At Home in One's Past: Nostalgia as a Cultural and Political Force in Britain, France and Germany. London: Demos. https://demosuk.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/At-Home-in-Ones-Past-Report.pdf.Google Scholar
Geisser, V (2018) L’Église et les catholiques de France face à la question migratoire: le grand malentendu? Migrations Societe 3, 3–13.Google Scholar
Haidt, J (2012) The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. New York: Vintage.Google Scholar
Haynes, J (2019) From Huntington to Trump: Thirty Years of the Clash of Civilizations. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Heimbach-Steins, M and Filipović, A (2017) Grundpositionen der Partei ‘Alternative Für Deutschland’ und der Katholischen Soziallehre im Vergleich. Münster: WMU.Google Scholar
Heinze, A-S (2018) Strategies of Mainstream Parties Towards their Right-Wing Populist Challengers: Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland in Comparison. West European Politics 41(2), 287–309. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2017.1389440.Google Scholar
Hofmann, K (2019) Kritik an Evangelischer Kirche: AfD: Kirche legt sich mit Mächtigen ins Bett. ZDF, 11 June. www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute/afd-greift-kirchen-an-100.html.Google Scholar
IFOP (2017) Le vote des électorats confessionnels au second tour de l’élection présidentielle. Paris: IFOP. www.ifop.com/publication/le-vote-des-electorats-confessionnels-au-second-tour-de-lelection-presidentielle/.Google Scholar
Immerzeel, T, Jaspers, E and Lubbers, M (2013) Religion as Catalyst or Restraint of Radical Right Voting? West European Politics 36(5), 946–968. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2017.1389440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaufmann, E (2018) Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration and the Future of White Majorities. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
Knoll, BR (2009) ‘And Who Is My Neighbor?' Religion and Immigration Policy Attitudes. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 48, 313–331. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01449.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Le Monde, (2002) L'Eglise catholique rejette le FN sans appeler à voter Chirac. 24 April. www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/2002/04/24/l-eglise-catholique-rejette-le-fn-sans-appeler-a-voter-chirac_272911_1819218.html.Google Scholar
Lesegretain, C (2017) En 2002, les évêques appelaient à ne pas voter pour le Front national au second tour de la présidentielle. La Croix, 24 April. www.la-croix.com/Religion/Catholicisme/France/En-2002-eveques-appelaient-voter-pour-Front-national-second-tour-presidentielle-2017-04-24-1200841988.Google Scholar
Marzouki, N, McDonnell, D and Roy, O (2016) Saving the People: How Populists Hijack Religion. London: Hurst & Company.Google Scholar
Mayer, N (2016) Les constantes du vote FN. Revue Projet 5, 11–14. https://doi.org/10.3917/pro.354.0011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAlister, M (2018) The Kingdom of God has no Borders: A Global History of American Evangelicals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Melkonian-Hoover, RM and Kellstedt, LA (2019) Populism, Evangelicalism, and the Polarized Politics of Immigration. Review of Faith & International Affairs 17(3), 50–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2019.1644009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montgomery, K and Winter, R (2015) Explaining the Religion Gap in Support for Radical Right Parties in Europe. Politics and Religion 8(2), 379–403. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755048315000292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
More in Common (2018) Perceptions et attitudes des catholiques de France vis-à-vis des migrants. Paris: IFOP for More in Common. www.secours-catholique.org/sites/scinternet/files/publications/rapport-mic-0606-bd_0.pdf.Google Scholar
Norris, P and Inglehart, R (2019) Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nouvel Observateur (2016) Mariage homo: entre le FN et la Manif pour tous, la guerre est déclarée. Nouvel Observateur, 14 April. www.nouvelobs.com/politique/mariage-gay-lesbienne/20160414.OBS8516/mariage-homo-entre-le-fn-et-la-manif-pour-tous-la-guerre-est-declaree.html.Google Scholar
Olson, DT (2008) The American Church in Crisis: Groundbreaking Research Based on a National Database of over 200,000 Churches. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.Google Scholar
Perrineau, P (2014) La France au Front. Paris: Fayard.Google Scholar
Perrineau, P (2017) Cette France de gauche qui vote FN. Paris: Le Seuil.Google Scholar
Pew Research Center (2019) Partisan Antipathy: More Intense, More Personal. Pew Research Center, 10 October. www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/10/10/partisan-antipathy-more-intense-more-personal.Google Scholar
Püttmann, A (2016) AfD und Kirche: Abgrenzen statt annähern. Die Zeit, 24 May. www.zeit.de/2016/22/afd-katholiken-ausgrenzung-ausschluss.Google Scholar
Ribadeau Dumas, O (2017) Élections présidentielles: l’Église redit son rôle et rappelle ses fondamentaux. Conférence des évêques de France, 23 April. https://eglise.catholique.fr/espace-presse/communiques-de-presse/438036-elections-presidentielles-leglise-redit-son-role-et-rappelle-ses-fondamentaux/.Google Scholar
Ricard, J-P (2002) Discerner les valeurs fondatrices de la démocratie. Conférence des évêques de France, 22 April. https://eglise.catholique.fr/espace-presse/communiques-de-presse/368871-discerner-les-valeurs-fondatrices-de-la-democratie/.Google Scholar
Rihoux, B and Ragin, CC (2009) Configurational Comparative Methods: Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Related Techniques (Applied Social Research Methods). London: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roy, O (2016) The French National Front: From Christian Identity to Laicité. In Marzouki, N, McDonnell, D and Roy, O (eds), Saving the People: How Populists Hijack Religion. London: Hurst, pp. 79–93.Google Scholar
Roy, O (2019) L'Europe est-elle chrétienne. Paris: Le Seuil.Google Scholar
Schwadel, P and Smith, GA (2019) Evangelical Approval of Trump Remains High, but Other Religious Groups Are Less Supportive. Pew Research Center, 18 March. www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/03/18/evangelical-approval-of-trump-remains-high-but-other-religious-groups-are-less-supportive/.Google Scholar
Senneville, LB de (2015) Pendant vingt ans, le FN condamné sans appel par l’Église. La Croix, 28 August. www.la-croix.com/Religion/Actualite/Pendant-vingt-ans-le-FN-condamne-sans-appel-par-l-Eglise-2015-08-28-1349225.Google Scholar
Siegers, P and Jedinger, A (2021) Religious Immunity to Populism: Christian Religiosity and Public Support for the Alternative for Germany. German Politics 30(2), 149–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644008.2020.1723002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegers, P, Franzmann, S and Hassan, M (2016) The Religious and Spiritual Underpinnings of Party Choice in Christian Europe. Electoral Studies 44, 203–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2016.08.008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silva, EO (2019) Donald Trump's Discursive Field: A Juncture of Stigma Contests Over Race, Gender, Religion, and Democracy. Sociology Compass 13(12), e12757. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12757.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, GA (2016) Many Evangelicals Favor Trump Because he is not Clinton. Pew Research Center, 23 September. www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/09/23/many-evangelicals-favor-trump-because-he-is-not-clinton/.Google Scholar
Smith, GA and Martinez, J (2016) How the Faithful Voted: A Preliminary 2016 Analysis. Pew Research Center, 9 November. www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/how-the-faithful-voted-a-preliminary-2016-analysis/.Google Scholar
Stille, A (2014) An Anti-Gay-Marriage Tea Party, French Style? New Yorker, 18 March. www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/an-anti-gay-marriage-tea-party-french-style.Google Scholar
Whitehead, AL and Perry, SL (2020) Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilcox, WB et al. (2012) No Money, no Honey, no Church: The Deinstitutionalization of Religious Life Among the White Working Class. Research in the Sociology of Work 23(1), 227–50. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0277-2833(2012)0000023013.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zúquete, JP (2017) Populism and Religion. In Kaltwasser C, Rovira, Taggart, P and Espejo, P (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Populism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 445–466.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Cremer supplementary material

Appendix

Download Cremer supplementary material(File)
File 16.1 KB