“The Rise of the Christian Right in Europe” By Gionathan Lo Mascolo and Kristina Stoeckl

Viktor Orbán, Hungary by Elekes Andor (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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This article is part of our series on Transnational Christian Nationalism, and its impact on politics, the rule of law, and religious freedom. If you’d like to explore other articles in this series, click here.

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In recent decades, Europe has witnessed the emergence of the Christian Right as a significant political force, reshaping the continent’s political landscape. From the seamless integration of Christian Right ideologies into coalition governments in Italy, Slovakia, and Austria, to their challenge of the moderate Christian democratic mainstream in Germany, this movement has become a pivotal undercurrent within Europe’s Far Right.

This essay explains the rise and influence of the Christian Right in Europe, building on the edited volume of The Christian Right in Europe. While the Christian Right in Europe echoes some of the concerns of its American counterpart – such as opposing secularism and promoting traditional values – and employs similar strategies and narratives, it also differs in key ways. Notably, it builds unusual denominational and transnational alliances to consolidate its influence across a highly secularized continent. Additionally, the Christian Right in Europe often operates covertly, circumventing historical taboos surrounding collaboration between Christian Churches and far-right political parties.

Entanglement with Far-Right Movements

The rise of the Christian Right is inextricably linked to the ascent of the Far Right both in Europe and in the United States. Through participation in government(initially in junior roles and progressively in senior capacities), the Far Right has increasingly become a dominant force in several countries. The Christian Right contributes to this phenomenon in three significant ways.

Firstly, they instrumentalize religion to legitimize radical agendas under the guise of traditional values. By leveraging existing religiosity among conservative segments of the population, the Christian Right contributes to the normalization and mainstreaming of radical and sometimes extremist ideas, bringing them to conservative religious groups that might not otherwise sympathize with the Far Right. Religious groups can be politicized and radicalized to advocate for the rollback of civil rights and, as the details of Project 2025 reveal, even the very foundations of democracy.

Secondly, the Christian Right creates a novel geography of power and influence across Europe, with countries that play a minor role in the European Union context – like Hungary or Slovakia – taking center stage. The European Christian Right also reaches out beyond Europe to Russia and the United States, from where it imports and adapts narratives, ideas, and strategies that have proven successful in the global “culture wars.” The goal of Christian Right groups in Europe is to increase societal polarization over cultural and gender matters and to advance (geo)political aims relating to environmental policies, international conflicts, and migration. They act as primary conduits for disseminating these transnational trends within European societies.

Thirdly, by carefully selecting and addressing transversal topics of concern in ways that question realpolitik or geopolitical boundaries, the Christian Right facilitates alliances between far-right groups, civil society, and parties hitherto not connected with each other. One example was the influence of Christian Right ideas in protests against governmental policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, which united conservative Christians, left-leaning civil society, and far-right anti-establishment parties. This networking across different constituencies and countries enhances the influence and reach of far-right ideologies. 

Moreover, a significant aspect of the Christian Right in Europe is its embrace of White Christian Nationalism. This ideology rejects immigration – particularly from Muslim countries and sub-Saharan Africa – and opposes pluralism, diversity, and non-discrimination. The notion of defending “Christian Europe” encompasses concerns including pro-natalism, traditional gender roles, anti-immigration policies, and intolerance towards Islam.

In countries like Germany and the Netherlands, Christian Right actors have blended Christian nationalist narratives with conspiracy theories, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic. They leverage existing skepticism toward liberal democracy, gender equality, science, and immigration policies to radicalize and mobilize new members. The identification of Islam as a threat has unified ultra-conservative Christians in Europe. While radical-right parties have historically been anti-immigration, the rise of global Islamist movements in the 2000s and 2010s merged xenophobic attitudes with anti-Muslim sentiment, aiding radical-right parties in gaining electoral success through nativism and closed-border advocacy.

Out-of-step with Christian Democracy

In the aftermath of World War II, European Christian churches and Christian Democratic parties played a crucial, constructive role in building liberal democratic institutions. Principles of human dignity, social cohesion, and peace, as championed by Christian Democrats like Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, also underpinned the European Union’s foundation as well. Article 17 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union institutionalizes dialogue between the EU institutions and religious organizations.

Although parts of Europe are quite secular or have secularized at different paces, many mainstream churches continue to influence politics, promoting a mix of conservative and progressive values. On the national level, different regimes of religion-state relations have been in place—from the “strict separation” model of laïcité in France to cooperation models like in Germany, and the continuation of state churches in Scandinavian countries. In all of these contexts, religious institutions developed a form of dialogue or what Alfred Stepan calls “twin toleration” with the secular state. 

Contrary to the project of Christian Democracy in Europe, the Christian Right functions as an antagonist to secular politics and pluralism and as a reactionary force vis-à-vis liberal democracy. The Christian Right in Europe is therefore not to be regarded as some “residue” of Europe’s historical Christianity. Instead, it is a highly politicized form of conservative Christianity that draws strength and sustenance from both the globalization of the American culture wars and Russia’s illiberal ambitions for Europe, trading traditional Christian democracy for a more radical, polarized version of politics. 

Since the 1990s, U.S. Christian Right organizations have extended their reach into Europe, providing strategic support, funding, and ideological frameworks to support similar activism across Europe. This transatlantic exchange has facilitated the import of advocacy techniques, legal strategies, and messaging campaigns. Simultaneously, Russia has exerted influence through soft power and financial support to disrupt social cohesion and undermine liberal democratic institutions in Europe. Russian actors, including the Russian Orthodox Church and affiliated oligarchs, have fostered alliances with European Christian Right organizations, sharing resources and coordinating efforts to advance a traditionalist agenda across the continent.

Today, areas of dissensus have arisen around issues of gender and sexuality, religious freedom, and workplace regulations, as is apparent from the type of religious freedom cases litigated in the context of the European Court of Human Rights. Consequently, some conservative and right-wing political and religious groups across Europe have started to identify European institutions as secularizing agents that should be resisted. Meanwhile, mainstream religious groups often counter far-right and identitarian stances, promoting liberal integration policies, especially concerning migration. Christian Democratic Parties have further helped the normalization and mainstreaming of Christian right and far-right ideas by adopting their positions and talking points on migration and gender issues, which has been a failed attempt to win back disappointed voters.

The Christian Right is also increasingly visible within European institutions. The composition of Christian Right groups within the European Parliament is an example of the evolving role of religion in European politics. Several groups with distinct Christian Right identities have formed, such as the European Conservatives and Reformists, the Identity and Democracy group, and the European Christian Political Movement, distinguishing themselves from the centrist Christian Democrats of the European People’s Party.

Anti-Gender Organizations and Their Strategies

A significant aspect of the Christian Right’s influence in Europe is the role played by anti-gender, anti-feminist, and anti-abortion organizations. These actors encompass European branches of U.S. Christian Right organizations, newly created European organizations and networks, and groups directly linked to religious institutions. They have forged specific transnational networks and forums to coordinate their actions. While claiming inspiration from Christian values – thus justifying the label “Christian Right” – they must be distinguished from official religious institutions like the Roman Catholic Church and from traditional, less professionalized local faith-based political engagement found in older pro-life groups.

The development of this new ultra-conservative civil society has occurred through processes of professionalization, generational renewal, and transnationalization of pro-life (anti-abortion) and pro-family (anti-LGBTQ+) activism in Europe. Christian Right actors engage in the European sphere through various approaches. They seek formal recognition to gain legitimacy and influence within political and institutional frameworks. Through traditional advocacy and campaigning – utilizing lobbying, petitions, and public demonstrations – they advocate for policies aligned with their values. They work to discredit inter- and supranational institutions by challenging the authority and decisions of bodies like the European Union, aiming to undermine policies they oppose. Additionally, they attempt infiltration by placing sympathizers in key positions within institutions to influence decision-making processes from within.

Poland exemplifies the profound impact of the Christian Right on legislation, democracy, and gender rights. With a strong Catholic tradition, the Christian Right has leveraged national Catholicism to assert significant political influence. The Law and Justice Party (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość, PiS), in power from 2015 to 2023, maintained close ties with conservative Catholic groups, seeking to restrict abortion and opposing LGBTQ+ rights, particularly with the Institute for Legal Culture Ordo Iuris, an ultra-conservative think tank established in 2013. Ordo Iuris has been instrumental in shaping Poland’s legal landscape by drafting legislation and providing legal opinions aligned with Christian Right ideologies. In 2020, Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal imposed a near-total ban on abortion, a decision heavily influenced by Christian Right activists and organizations like Ordo Iuris. This development sparked widespread protests, known as the Women’s Strike, highlighting societal divisions over gender rights. Ordo Iuris also drafted a declaration against LGBTQ+ rights, adopted by numerous local authorities, and known as “LGBT-free zones”, which was strongly critiqued by Brussels. This issue symbolized resistance to LGBTQ+ rights and contributed to Poland’s increasing isolation within the EU on issues of human rights and democratic values.

Online Spaces and the Christian Right

The success of Poland’s right-wing movement is closely tied to a highly professional digital and social media strategy, which has been effectively deployed across Europe. One notable example occurred in 2016 when, following an intense online campaign, the Polish Parliament significantly cut the budget of the Polish Children’s Ombudsman, after the ruling PiS party accused the office of promoting “gender ideology.” PiS MP Mularczyk defended the decision, stating, “The Parliament will not fund gender issues.” This action was driven by a petition initiated on CitizenGO.

CitizenGO, launched in 2013 by the Spanish organization HazteOir, is an ultra-conservative, multilingual petition platform and advocacy group headquartered in Madrid, with affiliates in fifteen countries. The platform uses online petitions as a form of internet activism to promote conservative values and mobilize supporters across borders. With regional versions in twenty geographical areas and twelve languages, CitizenGO has launched petitions on diverse issues – from opposing abortion rights in Brazil to criticizing television programs in Slovenia. This highlights the transnational and interdenominational nature of the Christian Right, using the power of social media to mobilize, recruit, and spread their ideology across Europe and beyond.

The successes of Christian Right politics in Europe have not gone unnoticed in America—quite the opposite. While the role of the USA as a pioneer for the Christian Right in Europe is often emphasized, the reverse is also true. In light of the foreseeable demographic changes in the USA, the Far Right has shown its eagerness to learn how it was possible, even in increasingly secularized societies and without majority support, to replace democracy and the rule of law with an autocratic system by using religion as a decisive instrument. This is not only evident in the numerous interviews and documentaries by Tucker Carlson with Vladimir Putin in Russia or at CPAC with Viktor Orbán in Budapest, Hungary, but it has also resulted in clear policy consequences. The conclusions drawn from these observations and the experiences from Europe are also reflected in Project 2025.

Interdenominational Collaboration

A central feature of the Christian Right in Europe is its interdenominational collaboration. Despite Europe’s history of religious wars and intolerance, the Christian Right transcends these historical divisions. Movements collaborate across religious traditions –including Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox Christians –uniting in opposition to gender diversity and progressive family values.

This cooperation is noteworthy because traditionalist and fundamentalist groups have historically been hostile to ecumenical dialogue. What unites them is not an ideal of Christian unity or shared theology but political strategy. Consequently, mainstream churches have often kept their distance. The Russian Orthodox Church has played a special role in transnational Christian Right organizing, although Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has complicated its role in these interdenominational alliances. Through soft power initiatives and financial support, Russian actors have sought to influence conservative movements in Europe, promoting traditional values and aligning with Christian Right objectives. 

In the global culture wars, the critical divide is not denominational but political. The rise of the European Christian Right poses challenges to mainstream churches and religious traditions. With the increasing secularization and the declining influence of traditional churches, Christian Right actors, often “minorities within minorities” –as they represent right-wing fringes within both most denominations and the Far Right –pose a risk of successfully hijacking church discourse. They may, in turn, take control of weakened conservative institutions and spaces, steering them towards a more extreme right-wing course. 

While the mainstream churches may share the Christian Right’s ideological base concerning gender, family, and abortion, they do not align with the movement’s institutional ambitions and confrontational strategies. Mainstream churches are tied to traditional hierarchies and consensus-oriented dialogues with governments. The Christian Right’s confrontational style risks alienating believers and creating divisions within religious communities. As noted by American Christian Right publicist Rod Dreher, figures like Viktor Orbán are perceived by some as better protectors of “Euro-Christianity” than established church leaders.

Conclusion

The Christian Right in Europe is a growing force challenging the secular and pluralistic status quo of European societies. By building on interdenominational collaborations and utilizing both private and public funding, including influences from U.S. organizations and Russian support, they increasingly succeed in pushing their conservative and illiberal agenda. Their influence on political parties and policymaking has brought a significant shift in the political landscape, ultimately destabilizing democracy in Europe. However, the rise of the Christian Right in Europe has also led to tensions within mainstream churches and religious communities, revealing deep-seated conflicts over values that cut across religious, cultural, and national lines. ♦

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Recommended Citation

Lo Mascolo, Gionathan & Kristina Stoeckl. “The Rise of the Christian Right in Europe.” Canopy Forum, November 6, 2024. https://canopyforum.org/2024/11/06/the-rise-of-the-christian-right-in-europe/

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