Reframing Religion in Populist Radical Right Discourse: A Socio-Cultural Analysis of Symbolic Religious Appeals

This article examines the ways in which religion has been reshaped within the rhetoric and political tactics of six European populist radical right (PRR) parties: Fratelli d’Italia, VOX, Alternative für Deutschland, Fidesz, the Slovak National Party, and the Sweden Democrats. These parties are analyzed throughout the timeframe of 2019-2024. Utilizing Pierre Ostiguy’s socio-cultural model, the analysis argues that religion primarily serves as a cultural, symbolic, and performative resource instead of a formal theological doctrine or an all-encompassing civilizational initiative. In this regard, the groups analyzed do not align with either a civilizationist framework or a strictly traditional religious perspective. Religious symbolism is becoming more ingrained in discussions of traditionalism, sovereignty, and Euroscepticism, heightening emotional appeals connected to belonging, resentment, and a sensed moral decline. Instead of promoting concrete religious perspectives, PRR participants utilize Christianity as a malleable collection of symbols, rituals, and moral indicators that bolster assertions of cultural continuity and genuine popular identity. By examining party-specific paths, the paper adds to current discussions on religion and populism by illustrating how religious language and symbols are purposefully reinterpreted in today's PRR politics to aid in boundary-setting, polarization, and identity formation, without forming a completely articulated religious or civilizational agenda. The results highlight the importance of performativity, emotion, and symbolic politics in analyzing the current connection among religion, nationalism, and the mobilization of the European PRR.