Populism, religion och teologi

Much has been written about how Christianity is used, instrumentalised or even hijacked by various right-wing populist movements in contemporary Europe. This is true in a certain way. At the same time it can be argued that there are many figures of thought within Christian theology that easily go together with populist discourses. This has three consequences, or so it is argued in this article. First, populists cannot be said to simply misuse the Christian tradition. Second, if so, Christian theologians will have to be aware of the potential populist slant when developing their understanding of Christian belief and praxis. Third, if Christian theology cannot be seen as an innocent activity, it may also constitute a constructive resource in critical analyses of populist discourses. The conclusion is that theology and political science may take advantage of each other to a larger extent than so far has been the case.