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Why is the defense of Christian national identities and of allegedly traditional gender roles so important for populist movements supporting illiberal democracies? Referencing cases from the U.S. context, Ludger Viefhues-Bailey argues that contemporary populist movements in support of illiberal democracies reveal the following truth about democratic governance: since sovereignty is placed in ‘the people,’ any democracy needs to incite and discipline sexual passions. Conservative Christianities stand ready to serve and profit from this need for passionate politics. In general, this analysis allows scholars to contextualize the recent emergence of illiberal populist Christianities. At a time when neoliberal globalization makes the replacement of labor less pressing for capital and when national sovereignty weakened, un-reproductive sexual passions could be folded into the maintenance of the state. Yet, even if employers and global capitalists do not require the reproduction of ‘the people,’ the democratic state needs it. Sexual passions are part of the political and Christian heteropatriarchy stands ready to incite and domesticate them.