Religious Freedom and Populism : The Appropriation of a Human Right and How to Counter It / edited by Bernd Hirschberger, Katja Voges.

Cover -- Contents -- Prof. Nazila Ghanea(United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief) -- Bishop Dr Heiner Wilmer SCJ(President of the German Commission for Justice and Peace) Reverend Dirk Bingener(President of the Pontifical Mission Society missio Aachen) -- Introduction: Conservative, Right‐Wing Populist or Far‐Right Extremist? -- Right‐wing populist rhetoric: Characteristics and typical patterns of argumentation -- Human rights populism: The populist appropriation of the human rights discourse -- Patterns of the right‐wing populist appropriation and reinterpretation of religious freedom -- A trend towards withdrawal and dangerous socio‐political reactions towards populism -- Right‐wing populist appropriations - Societal dynamics and reactions - approaches to solutions -- Populist Reinterpretation and Appropriation of Religious Freedom Worldwide -- Reinterpretations of Religious Freedom by the Far Right in the German‐Speaking World -- Clientelistic interpretation -- Strategic mixing of legitimate criticism with right‐wing ideological narratives -- Staging themselves as the only sincere defenders of religious freedom -- Self‐attribution of the victim role -- Further examples from German‐speaking countries -- International networking of the stakeholders -- Conclusion -- Escalating the Populist Approach -- Constructing a useful history by appropriating repression -- Freedom of religion as a weapon -- Culture wars learned and escalated -- Hungary under Viktor Orban -- The development of an "Illiberal Christian Democracy" -- Strengthening "Christian values" and violations of religious freedom -- The narrative of the Christian victim role and the threat to "Christian culture" -- Anti‐Muslim and anti‐migrant positions -- Budapest Report on Christian Persecution -- International networking and strategies -- Final remarks.

Religious Freedom for Christian Majorities -- The empirical evidence for religious intolerance -- The performance of intolerance -- The architecture of intolerance -- Final remarks -- Abuse of Religious Freedom? -- Introduction: Religion‐based rejection of COVID‑19 protection measures -- Abusive vs. erroneous references to religious freedom: The legal framework -- Motives for the abusive reference to religious freedom -- The Political Instrumentalization of the Topics of Secularism, Religious Freedom and Islamophobia in Turkey -- Kemalism's political instrumentalization of secularism -- The role of the topic of religious freedom in the context of the transition of power to the AKP in the 2000s -- The populist reinterpretation of religious freedom under the AKP rule -- Polarization of the political debates about religious freedom and secularism and the opposition's likewise populist reaction -- The instrumentalization of the fight against Islamophobia as a diaspora and foreign policy tool -- Conclusion -- Populism, Religious Identity, and the Instrumentalization of "Religious Freedom" in the United States during the Era of Donald Trump -- Introduction: Christian identity rather than gospel Christianity -- Instrumentalizing religious freedom to win an election -- Instrumentalization of religious freedom by MAGA Christians and the Trump administration -- The Supreme Court, abortion, and gay rights -- Instrumentalizing "religious freedom" as a two‐edged sword: Seeking state benefits on the grounds of religious freedom -- Trump administration actions to provide state financial benefits -- The Trump administration and MAGA Christian identity -- Public prayer and religious displays -- Displays of religious symbols -- Support for the State of Israel -- Attempt to ban Muslims from entering the United States -- Conclusion.

Societal Dynamics and Problematic Reactions towards Populist Appropriation -- A Recipe for Political Polarization? -- Introduction: Populist distortions of a human right -- FoRB: The rights‐based approach to dealing with religious diversity -- How to assess conflicts between FoRB and other human rights -- Coping with illiberal uses of a liberal right -- Religious Freedom in the Field of Tension between Populist Anti‐Muslim Sentiments and Islamist Radicalisation Tendencies -- Introduction -- Religious institutionalisation of Islam in Germany: Internal dynamics and external factors -- Equal legal treatment of Islam in Germany in the field of tension between social Islamophobia and Islamist radicalisation tendencies -- Religious freedom in the context of debates on the building of mosques, minarets and muezzin calls in Germany -- Conclusion -- Secularism in France and the Challenge of Populism -- The eventful history of the establishment of the freedom of religion or belief in France -- Secularism disfigured by both authoritarian republicanism and far‐right populism? -- The return of a policy of religious control -- Conclusion -- Restrictions on Freedom of Religion or Belief in Denmark -- Introduction: Freedom of religion or belief under pressure -- "To protect Danish values": A selective understanding of freedom of religion or belief -- "Denmark is a Christian country" -- Staying within the limits of the European Human Rights Convention -- Lack of religious literacy -- Summing up -- Commitment to Religious Freedom at the Level of the European Union -- A positive development regarding advocacy for FoRB in the 2010s -- Between withdrawal and polarisation -- Appropriation and reinterpretation of religious freedom by the far‐right -- Cherry‐picking approaches towards FoRB across all political groups -- Conclusions and recommendations.

Signs of Hope and Proposals for Solutions -- International Religious Freedom (or Belief) Alliance -- The alliance -- The idea for an alliance -- A concept of the Trump administration -- The International Contact Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief -- IRF instead of FoRB -- Technical, language and legal aspects -- Eliminating misconceptions, changing principles -- Sound principles of the alliance -- Putting words into practice -- Consolidation and striving for effectiveness -- Evaluation -- Populism in the Land of Equality -- The role of religious freedom in Norwegian politics -- "Gender ideology" vs. "traditional Christianity": Not a winning issue for populists in Norway -- Realized gender equality immunizes against anti‐feminist populism -- The deterring effect of extremism: How Breivik's anti‐feminist 2083 manifesto turned "Christian values" into a narrative that not even right‐wing populists want to be associated with -- Gender equality as a populist value? -- Conclusion -- Populist Appropriation and Reinterpretation of Religious Freedom -- Church engagement against the right‐wing populist appropriation of religious freedom -- Contradict -- Educate and leave no space -- Open learning spaces for religious freedom through interreligious dialogue and ecumenical learning -- Interreligious dialogue -- Ecumenical learning -- Meaning, community and identity -- Beliefs, Brains and Breaking Chains -- Introduction -- Populism, "othering" and the construction of fear -- Education on "living together": The key to counteract populist narratives and promote religious freedom -- What is the way forward? -- Social Media as a Tool against Populist Appropriation of FoRB and for Promoting FoRB? -- Attacks on religious freedom in social media: Narratives and strategies -- Promotion of religious freedom in social media.

Raising awareness and providing education via social media -- Counter‐measures -- Responsibility and obligations of the key stakeholders -- More digital civic courage -- Responsibility of (traditional and new) media -- Responsibility of platform operators and issues of legal regulation -- Protection of human rights defenders -- Conclusion -- Conclusion: The Case of Religious Freedom and Populism -- Forming new, broad alliances -- Strengthening human rights education -- Choosing constructive language -- Finding solutions to problems in a level‐headed and evidence‐based way -- Cultivating a constructive approach to fears and distresses -- Leave no room for extremism and hate -- Further facets of the struggle for the interpretation of human rights illustrated by the example of religious freedom -- List of Contributors -- Acknowledgements -- About the cover design.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.