Nationalism is conventionally understood to have emerged in the aftermath of the French Revolution and to be a modern political ideology. It is seen by many as an intrinsically secular phenomenon associated with the replacement of dynastic and theocratic rule with that of the sovereign state. For many social theorists, nationalism replaced religion; it became the 'civil religion' of the nation. However, in recent years, the rise of religious nationalism, not only in the Global South and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) but also in the West itself, has questioned the secular narrative of the nation. Authoritarian populist leaders such as Narendra Modi in India and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Türkiye have explicitly drawn on religion and religious symbols in order to mobilize popular support for their nationalist agendas whereas Vladimir Putin, Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump have drawn support from Christian Orthodox and Evangelical communities. In MENA, the religious nationalism of groups affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood have challenged secular, authoritarian regimes and the rise of religious nationalism in both Israel and Palestine has greatly exacerbated the current conflict in Gaza making a ceasefire seemingly more difficult.
This panel will examine the relationship between religion and national identity in global politics by providing empirical case studies and theoretical insights on the relationship between religion and nationalism from a global perspective.
