Christianity and Civilizational Populism

This chapter discusses Christian-based civilizationalism across a variety of societies. It begins with a discussion of the historical relationship between Christianity and politics, and the impact of secularization on European societies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The chapter then describes the rise of right-wing populism across Europe and North America in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the manner in which right-wing populists have incorporated Christian civilizationalism into their populism. The chapter describes how Christian civilizationalism may incorporate elements of Christianity as a faith, or may be entirely secularized and perceive Christianity as the chief progenitor of national values. The chapter provides three case studies of Christian civilizational populists: Hungary’s Fidesz Party and its leader Viktor Orbán, the National Rally in France and its leader Marine Le Pen, and the Trump Administration in the United States and President Donald Trump.