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Haynes, Jeffrey (2024) Book review : Atalia Omer and Joshua Lupo (eds.), Religion, populism, and modernity: confronting white Christian nationalism and racism. Notre Dame, Indiana, USA: University of Notre Dame Press, 2023. £29.22 (pbk), vi + 302pp. ISBN 978-0-268-20582-9. Party Politics. ISSN 1460-3683
From the United States to the Middle East and from Asia to Africa, religious nationalism is an important component of political activity and organisation. While the relationship between religion and nationalism is not a new area of research, it has grown in importance in recent years, as more and more examples of the phenomenon have appeared, often with significant political impacts. When the relationship between religion and nationalism is clear and sustained, then a hybrid term is useful: ‘religious nationalism’. Religious nationalism signifies a demonstrably close, even synonymous, relationship between two concepts ‘religion’ and ‘nationalism’, which are not inevitably close ideologically. Religion fits in this context when it is a defining component of what a nation is said to comprise, helping to forge a collective ethos of identity and belonging expressed in a collective culture. Manifestations of religious nationalism depend on their historical, religious, political, and cultural contexts.
The book under review examines ‘the recent rise of White Christian nationalism in Europe and the United States, focusing on how right-wing populist leaders and groups have mobilized racist and xenophobic rhetoric in their bids for political power’ (back cover blurb). As the book explains, Christian nationalism is a politically important form of religious nationalism, drawing on specific Christian values and beliefs. Christian nationalism is a controversial issue, understood in various ways.
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