Blavatnik Book Talks: The Godless Crusade


The event is open to University of Oxford members only. Please use your university email address to register.

Tobias Cremer discusses the central themes of his new book, The Godless Crusade, with a response by Maya Tudor, and chaired by Tom Simpson.

The Godless Crusade explores the rise of right-wing populism in the West, proposing that its references to religion are driven less by a resurgence of religious fervour, and more by the emergence of a new secular identity politics. Cremer argues that right-wing populists use Christianity as a cultural identity marker of the ‘pure people’ against external ‘others’ while often remaining disconnected from Christian values, beliefs, and institutions. However, right-wing populists’ willingness and ability to employ religion in this way critically depends on the actions of mainstream party politicians and faith leaders. They can either legitimise right-wing populists’ identitarian use of religion or challenge it, thereby cultivating ‘religious immunity’ against populist appeals. As the populist wave breaks across the West, a new debate about the role of religion in society has begun.