The use of religion by populist parties: the case of Italy and its broader implications

The rise of populist parties in Europe and the increasing salience of religion in political discourse are two relevant, sometimes discussed as interrelated, phenomena of recent decades. While most analysis focuses on right-wing populism, this does not exhaust all possible relationships. This study a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religion, state & society Vol. 49; no. 3; pp. 211 - 230
Main Authors: Caiani, Manuela, Carvalho, Tiago
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Abingdon Routledge 27.05.2021
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects:
Citizenship
Constituents
Discourse
frames
Islam
Italy
Left wing politics
Political discourse
political mobilisation
Political parties
Populism
populism(s)
Religion
Religion & politics
Religious beliefs
Right wing politics
Salience
Speeches
Syntactic movement
Italy
ISSN:0963-7494, 1465-3974
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The rise of populist parties in Europe and the increasing salience of religion in political discourse are two relevant, sometimes discussed as interrelated, phenomena of recent decades. While most analysis focuses on right-wing populism, this does not exhaust all possible relationships. This study addresses the role of religion in populist parties by focusing on the Italian case and adopting a comparative cross organisational perspective shedding light on how left-wing and right-wing populists use religion for different purposes. Drawing on interview data with party representatives and analysis of organisational documents and speeches, we explore the presence and the uses of religious appeals in the two populist Italian parties in recent years. We show that their use of religion varies on three dimensions: i) hierarchy of identifications, ii) salience, and iii) frame. The League represents 'cultural populism': religion is used as an 'identity marker' that is highly salient and an instrument for framing specific topics. Conversely, the Five Star Movement exemplifies 'political/economic populism', in which religion as an identifier is present but less salient and used to frame citizenship in juridical/legalist terms. These different usages of religion lead to different definitions of the 'people' and therefore in-group constituencies.
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ISSN:0963-7494
1465-3974
DOI:10.1080/09637494.2021.1949935