Religious Rhetoric and Right-Wing Populism in Central Europe

• In Event: Politics and History & MENA Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual Poster Session: Politics and History Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

Abstract:
In the context of declining European religiosity, why is religious rhetoric by populist parties not only prevalent, but also increasing? What explains the rise of religious rhetoric and what are the political consequences? Through the compilation of a unique dataset of religious appeals found in populist party platforms between 1990-2018, I establish an overview of populist religious rhetoric across Central Europe--Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland. I test the explanatory power of religious demographics, including behaving, believing, belonging, and religious plurality, and find that while it partially explains in-country distribution of type of appeal, it lacks power for across country distribution of and variation in type of religious rhetoric. Rather, I argue that a comparative historical analysis approach which traces the role that religious in-groups and out-groups contributed to a nationality myth is necessary to understanding variation across cases and type. More specifically, I demonstrate where and how religious identity plays a role in demarcating in-groups and out-groups predicts where populist religious rhetoric will be deployed.

Author

• Emma Rosenberg, University of Notre Dame