Chapter 20
In: The Spirit of Populism
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Abstract
This conclusion leaves the readers with two invitations to examine further the spirits of both political theology and populism. The first is to consider the ways that the anti-Muslim rhetoric of far-right populism in Europe and North America is intertwined within a longer history of Christianity and secularism. Solely disavowing far-right populism as antithetical to genuine liberal or Judeo-Christian values leads to evading a more serious analysis of the complications and contradictions latent within Western political theology. Moving beyond the volume’s primary aim to study the spirit of populism in Europe and North America, the second invitation is to expand our analysis of both populisms and political theologies into a broader global perspective. To accomplish this, Joshua Ralston suggests ways that political theology might borrow from comparative theology to engage in new readings of global populist movements, including Islamism.