CIRIS Hosts Workshop on ‘Nationalism, Conservative Religion, and Identity in German, Dutch, and Anglo-American Politics’

17th Dec 2019

From 9 to 10 December CIRIS hosted a DAAD-funded workshop for nearly twenty scholars in Cambridge to explore the relationship between nationalism, populism, and Christian churches in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Whereas the phenomenon of nationalism and populism occur in all of these states, the differences in their expression are quite pronounced. Similarly, responses by churches range widely. Some churches and religious leaders have spoken out against populism, but there are significant exceptions.

Several workshop participants challenged the common media perception that nationalist populism is tightly entertained with devout religiosity. Indeed, many leading populists appropriate Christian rhetoric and symbolist but are decidedly secular and face criticism from church authorities. Empirical evidence shows that church-going Christians tend to be less likely to support populism than those who identify as culturally Christian.

A key takeaway from the workshop is that churches need a stronger grounding in political theology in order to shape the public conversation around immigration and national identity, rather than merely offering ethical considerations such ‘neighbourly care’ or ‘care for the refugee’. It appears that churches would benefit from both inclusive practices on a local level as well as more explicit guidance from international church councils and associations on the question of how to engage populism.

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