Who Leads Leitkultur?: How Populist Claims about ‘Christian Identity’ Impact Christian-Democrats in Western Europe
A widely shared but understudied characteristic of the rise of right-wing conservative populism (the New Right) is the emphasis on religious-cultural identity of the West. Using phrases like ‘Judeo-Christianity’, ‘Christian values’, or ‘Christian Leitkultur’ a variety of political actors have claime...
| Published in: | Interdisciplinary journal for religion and transformation in contemporary society |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
[2020]
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| In: |
Interdisciplinary journal for religion and transformation in contemporary society
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Europe
/ Christianity
/ Tradition
/ Religious identity
/ Dominant culture
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| RelBib Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy KBA Western Europe ZC Politics in general |
| Further subjects: | B
Judeo-Christianity
B Populism B Christian Democracy B Postsecular |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | A widely shared but understudied characteristic of the rise of right-wing conservative populism (the New Right) is the emphasis on religious-cultural identity of the West. Using phrases like ‘Judeo-Christianity’, ‘Christian values’, or ‘Christian Leitkultur’ a variety of political actors have claimed that religious-cultural identity needs to be safeguarded and enshrined in policy. As this frame is gaining traction, the question arises what this emphasis on the public importance of religion entails for those who tend to see themselves as the guardians of religious-cultural identity. In particular this article focusses on the challenges this development creates for Christian Democratic political actors.On the one hand the emphasis on the importance of ‘christian traditions’ resonates with the historical position of christian democrats, on the other hand, there are important differences between traditional christian democracy and how the New Right speaks of religion. The main aim of this article is to outline how the rise of the New Right has created a contestation about what it means to represent christian cultural identity. |
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| ISSN: | 2364-2807 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Interdisciplinary journal for religion and transformation in contemporary society
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.30965/23642807-00502003 |