Book contents
- The Godless Crusade
- The Godless Crusade
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Part I Foundations
- Part II The German Churches and the Alternative für Deutschland
- Chapter 4 Christianity and Democracy in Germany after World War II
- Chapter 5 The Advent of the Alternative für Deutschland in the Context of the New Identity Cleavage
- Chapter 6 Defenders of the Faith?
- Chapter 7 Religious Immunity
- Part III French Catholicism, the Rassemblement National and Laïcité
- Part IV A Faustian Bargain?
- Part V Conclusion
- Appendix A List of Interviewees
- Appendix B Sample Questionnaire (Religious Leaders)
- References
- Index
Chapter 7 - Religious Immunity
Voting Behaviour and the Church’s Social Firewall
from Part II - The German Churches and the Alternative für Deutschland
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 March 2023
- The Godless Crusade
- The Godless Crusade
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Part I Foundations
- Part II The German Churches and the Alternative für Deutschland
- Chapter 4 Christianity and Democracy in Germany after World War II
- Chapter 5 The Advent of the Alternative für Deutschland in the Context of the New Identity Cleavage
- Chapter 6 Defenders of the Faith?
- Chapter 7 Religious Immunity
- Part III French Catholicism, the Rassemblement National and Laïcité
- Part IV A Faustian Bargain?
- Part V Conclusion
- Appendix A List of Interviewees
- Appendix B Sample Questionnaire (Religious Leaders)
- References
- Index
Summary
Chapter 7 analyses the reactions of Christian voters and the extent to which they are determined by supply-side actors such as the mainstream parties and churches. Particular attention is paid to the empirical finding that irreligious voters in Germany were much more drawn to the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) than Christians. This ‘religious immunity’ of German Protestants and Catholics appeared to be partly the result of demand-side factors, such as attitudes or theological beliefs, but mainly dependent on supply-side factors such as the availability of a ‘Christian alterative’ in the German party system as well as the behaviour of the institutional churches, which through their clear and public condemnation of the AfD’s use of religion appear to have created a powerful social taboo surrounding the AfD.
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- The Godless CrusadeReligion, Populism and Right-Wing Identity Politics in the West, pp. 89 - 110Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023