Overview
Western democracies are experiencing a new wave of right-wing populism that seeks to mobilise religion for its own ends. With chapters on the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Poland and Israel, Saving the People asks how populist movements have used religion for their own ends and how church leaders react to them. It argues that religion is more about belonging than belief for populists, with religious identities and traditions being deployed to define who can and cannot be part of ‘the people’. This in turn helps many populists to claim that native Christian communities are being threatened by a creeping and highly aggressive process of Islamization, with Muslims becoming a key ‘enemy of the people’. While Church elites generally condemn this instrumental use of religions, populists take little heed, presenting themselves as the true saviours of the people. The policy implications of this phenomenon are significant, which makes this book all the more relevant to current debate.
Praise & Reviews
“Explore[s] the ways in which rightwing populism links into religion … The result is an overview of the far-right’s growing web, highlighting the differences but also, strikingly and more worryingly, the similarities and interconnections between those parties.” — Financial Times.
Read the full Financial Times review here.
“Vox Populi, Vox Dei? In the increasingly saturated market of populism books, Saving the People addresses one of the few important black spots: the relationship between religion and populism. A must-read for anyone interested in politics in contemporary western democracies.” — Cas Mudde, University of Georgia.
‘A major and challenging contribution to the understanding of Western populism’ — Nonna Mayer, Sciences Po.
“Marzouki, McDonnell and Roy have brought together a set of voices that sing in unison. Taken as a whole, the book’s point that Christianity is window-dressing for anti-Muslim populism is important and new enough to be worth the read.” — Literary Review.
“Brings together an impressive group of scholars with extensive expertise on the subject. Even those who have closely followed the evolution of radical right-wing populism in recent years will find a wealth of new material and insights in this volume.” – Hans-Georg Betz, Journal of Church and State.
“A strong book, well organized, and with first-rate research throughout, Saving the People addresses an all-too neglected topic.” – José Pedro Zúquete, Party Politics.
“This detailed survey of the ways in which right-wing populist movements employ a particular understanding of religion as a tool for political mobilisation is a welcome contribution to the growing body of research on populism” – Stratos Patrikios, Political Studies Review.
“Saving the People demonstrates very well that the rise of populism is not merely a reaction to economic downturn, but that religious identity plays the key role in populists’ distinguishing between ‘the people’ and those who must be excluded” – Nicholas Morieson, Journal of Religious and Political Practice.