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Chapter 17 - Democracy after God?

Faith, Populism and the Future of Liberal Democracy

from Part V - Conclusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 March 2023

Tobias Cremer
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Summary

Chapter 17 ends with an exploration of the generalisability of this book’s findings, their limitations and potential for new research. It also returns to a fundamental challenge that right-wing populists’ religiously laden identity politics poses for Western societies. Namely, that instead of being just the latest iteration of religious opposition to secularisation, these developments point to a question of post-religious politics itself: what can still unite us in a society in which sources of social connectedness such as class, shared understandings of history, national culture and religion have lost most of their universal appeal and in which parts of the population are left in a profound crisis of identity? Who are ‘we’? Who is the ‘other’? As these questions drive a split between cosmopolitans and communitarians, right-wing populists have recognised a gap of representation and offered their own remedy: an ethno-cultural identity politics based on sweeping ideas of Western civilisation, in the context of which Christianity has become a secularised idea of ‘Christendom’ dissociated from Christian values, beliefs and institutions. Yet, faith leaders and mainstream parties also still have a tremendous influence over which role religion will play in liberal democracies. While the godless crusade may be well under way, its destination and success are yet to be determined.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Godless Crusade
Religion, Populism and Right-Wing Identity Politics in the West
, pp. 264 - 267
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Democracy after God?
  • Tobias Cremer, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Godless Crusade
  • Online publication: 23 March 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009262125.022
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  • Democracy after God?
  • Tobias Cremer, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Godless Crusade
  • Online publication: 23 March 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009262125.022
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Democracy after God?
  • Tobias Cremer, University of Oxford
  • Book: The Godless Crusade
  • Online publication: 23 March 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009262125.022
Available formats
×