The Orthodox Church as a political actor: anti–sex education mobilizations and the making of an illiberal consensus in Romania

Over the past decade, an increasingly dense network of actors has mobilized against sex education in Romania. What once appeared as scattered, localized resistance has become institutionalized within mainstream politics, reshaping policy agendas and reframing sex education in conservative, illiberal, and far-right terms. Antigenderism has provided ideological ammunition to these movements, reinforcing a convergence between heterogeneous actors. This paper examines the central yet understudied role of the Romanian Orthodox Church in this process. Building on previous research on parliamentary debates on sex education (2012–2024), the paper conceptualizes the Orthodox Church as a political actor embedded in a heterogeneous discourse coalition. This coalition includes religious conservatives, anti-gender, anti-abortion, neolegionary NGOs, segments of mainstream and far-right politicians. Using discourse coalition theory as a conceptual lens, the paper explores how the Orthodox Church articulates its position on sex education, how its rhetoric interacts with political and civic actors, and how specific frames are produced, circulated, and adapted across arenas. The key question it addresses is: How does the Romanian Orthodox Church construct and circulate narratives on sex education across political, religious, and media arenas, and through what discursive mechanisms do these narratives gain legitimacy in policymaking processes? Methodologically, the paper employs discourse analysis of public statements and Church documents to trace how Orthodox rhetoric builds specific frames, travels across arenas, and acquires political authority. The multi-layered empirical corpus includes official Church statements, pastoral letters, press releases, and public interventions by high-ranking clerics, examined alongside their reception in political and media debates. The Romanian case illuminates a broader pattern within the Orthodox world, where religious institutions—through their positionality, motivations, and networked alliances—become active participants in an emerging “illiberal consensus” and contribute to the institutionalization of anti-gender discourses and practices. This approach provides a nuanced understanding of how religious discourse gains political traction and how alliances between Church, state, and far-right actors are discursively stabilized. Understanding the rhetoric of the Orthodox Church is crucial not only for mapping the illiberal transformations of democratic politics but also for identifying spaces where feminist and progressive counter-discourses can emerge within this contested field.