Religion, migration, and the far-right : how European populism frames religious pluralism

Mandelc, Damjan (author)

This article examines how populist radical right parties (PRR) in three contrasting European contexts—Slovenia, France, and Poland—strategically instrumentalize Christianity within their anti-immigration agendas. Rather than using religion as a matter of faith, these parties recast Christianity as a cornerstone of national and European identity, positioning it in opposition to Islam and non-European migration. The study argues that such instrumentalization serves not only to construct a religiously defined national identity, but also to legitimize exclusionary policies. By analyzing selected political speeches, party manifestos, and media discourse, we explore how far-right actors frame Islam as incompatible with European values, reinforcing the division between “Christian Europe” and “foreign non-Christian migrants.” Drawing on recent scholarship on civilizational populism and religious boundary-making, we further assess how processes of globalization and European integration have been interpreted by populist parties to fuel anti-immigrant sentiment. Methodologically, we employ qualitative content analysis to identify recurring themes and rhetorical strategies, with a focus on the intersection of religion, nationalism, and migration. The findings contribute to debates on religious pluralism in contemporary Europe, shedding light on how far-right populism reframes pluralism and challenges secular principles across different political and cultural settings.

• Language: English
• Keywords: far-right populism, populist radical right (PRR), christianity, migration, religious pluralism, civilizational populism, secularism
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 17.09.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 1-17
• Numbering: Vol. 16, iss. 9, 1192
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-173874
• UDC: 329.055.1:2(4)
• ISSN on article: 2077-1444
• DOI: 10.3390/rel16091192
• COBISS.SI-ID: 250250499
• Publication date in RUL: 24.09.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Religions
• Shortened title: Religions
• Publisher: MDPI AG
• ISSN: 2077-1444
• COBISS.SI-ID: 520261657

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: skrajni desničarski populizem, radikalna desnica, krščanstvo, migracije, verski pluralizem, civilizacijski populizem, sekularizem

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P6-0194
• Name: Problemi avtonomije in identitet v času globalizacije