The rise of right-wing political groups across Europe - as seen for example in the October 2022 election of Giorgia Meloni in Italy, or the December 2022 attempted coup in Germany - has served as a reminder of the importance of understanding how religion informs the goals and grievances of nationalist movements and far-right political agendas. This panel will explore the various ways that religion and/or religious narratives inform and intersect with European political movements, whether in the form of religious nationalism or political narratives against particular religious traditions (i.e. anti-Semitism). Case studies highlighting Hungarian pilgrimages promoted by the right-wing, Turkish diaspora nationalism in Germany, the political influence of the Polish Catholic Church, and anti-Semitism in Finland will come together with the goal of sparking new conversations about the role of religion in today's increasingly polarized and conservative European politics.
The current state of politics in Poland can be traced to the efforts of Cardinal and Primate of Poland Stefan Wyszynski and Karol Woytyla (later Pope John Paul II) to give Poland a sense of national pride in the midst of Soviet oppression. Their influence on the Polish Catholic Church, which represented the majority of Poles, crafted a narrative of Polish identity, drawing from the heroes of Poland’s past, marrying that identity to the Church and strengthening that identity through liturgical practices. That has meant that anything that doesn’t fit into what the Church deems “Polish” is an enemy to be opposed. The Law and Order Party has taken this as a means to gain power, pushing Poland to the far right. This paper will examine the history of the Church during Communism, and how its objectives, meant to bring good, are now working against the best interests of Poland.
Discourse about Christian nationalism as a concept has increased substantially in recent years with the advent of a series leaders and parties whose rhetoric and political base represent this ideology. This paper argues that these movements ought to be seen as representative of a kind of Christian pan-nationalism with intellectual and financial connections going beyond religion yet reliant on neo-Christendom rhetoric for legitimation. It will use as its case study Catholic integralism represented by thinkers such as Adrian Vermeule, Thomas Pink, and Thomas Crean, which seeks to reconstitute a pan-nationalism along the lines of traditional notions of “Catholic Europe” (though it has appealed to Protestant and Orthodox thinkers and politicians also) over the objections of many church leaders and the stated teaching of the Catholic Church. This intellectual movement has had robust political connections to Christian nationalist parties in Europe, particularly in Poland and Hungary. (cont.)
Across the globe, reactionary political formations are rising, often connected through nostalgic, philosophical conceptions of social morality and state stability. This paper explores the phenomenon of “trad nationalism” (the blending of far/alt-right European philosophies of social purity with nationalistic, curatorial, even bespoke, worldbuilding projects) in the Euro-American context. Using case studies of Orthodox far-right actors in the transatlantic context, I show how digital networks and social media communities help create, sustain, and spread reactive ecologies aimed at alternative political futures in both the United States and Europe.