In Europe and the United States, religion has become a significant component of the growing nationalist and supremacist political groups which contest fundamental rights of religious, sexual or racial minorities in the name of their religious identity. Outside western secular democracies, the rise of religious claims not only impinges on civil rights but also on the rule of law and democratic life in general.
This panel discussed the religious dimension of populism and nationalism across countries, religious traditions and historical periods. The panel brought together scholars of religion and politics to explore comparatively the rise of extreme right movements in Europe, the white supremacists groups in the USA, but also rise of authoritarian figures in Turkey, Russia or India :
- Jocelyne Cesari, University of Birmingham and Georgetown University, “We the People: Interplay between Religious Community, Nation and Populism”
- Wolfgang Palaver, University of Innsbruck: Fraternity versus Parochialism: On Religion and Populism
- Leon Van den Broeke, Campen University: “Legislation on Religion and Populist Parties Manifestos”
- Tobias Cremer, Oxford University, “The religious Dimension of European and American Populism Compared”
Discussant: Jeffrey Haynes, London Metropolitan University