Religion, Populism and Anti-democratic Attitudes in Liberal Democracies

• In Event: Religion, Populism, and Geopolitics

Abstract

In the early 1990s, during the peak of the third wave of democratization, an "euphoria for democracy" arose as a result of democratization processes starting in post-Soviet states. This led to scholarly engagement with an almost mandatory image of democratization. However, subsequent reality increasingly tempered the initial enthusiasm. Democratisation processes that began during the Arab Spring have largely failed, and existing democracies are experiencing democratic erosion or even hybridisation, indicating a concerning trend (u.a. Inglehart 2018; Smolka 2019; Stasavage 2020; Haggard und Kaufman 2021; Pfeifer 2022). At the same time, long-consolidated liberal democracies such as the USA, France and Germany are facing increasing challenges: Whether through the rise of populist and far-right parties (e.g Caramani und Manucci 2019; Decker und Lewandowsky 2017; Lewandowsky 2020; Norris und Inglehart 2019; Schwanholz et al. 2020) or the decline in public support for democracy (GRAHAM and SVOLIK 2020; Klingemann 1999; Norris 1999, 2011).
Religion is often discussed in this context, both in terms of changes in religious affiliation and their impact on the political system, as seen in Brazil and Latin America, as well as in terms of a concrete impact on individual party identification and voting intentions, particularly in relation to the link between Christian evangelical fundamentalism and the triumph of right-wing populist and far-right politicians in the Americas and Europe. Religion appears to be an important factor in the construction of enemy images by both populist and extremist politicians as well, as evidenced by right-wing populist groups in Europe and America portraying predominantly Islamic migrants or refugees as the enemy. Amidst these developments, arises an essential question about the association between religiosity, support for anti-democratic attitudes, and identification with right-wing populist and extremist parties. Is there a tendency for religious individuals to support right-wing populist and extremist political parties? Is there a correlation between religiosity, anti-democratic attitudes, and identification with right-wing parties? Which other cultural, socio-structural and socio-psychological factors account for an individual's affiliation with a right-wing populist party in a consolidated democracy?
The paper focuses on the impact of religiosity on antidemocratic beliefs and identification with right-wing parties within a liberal democratic context. In order to address the research questions, I will use a merged dataset from different sources, including the World Value Survey and PopuList, and statistical methods such as binary logistic regression and structural equation modeling.

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Author

• Dennis Florian Heiko Kurrek, University of Hagen