When considering the relationship between populism and religion, scholars have argued that religion is being “hijacked” by populist leaders to build on a shared cultural ground in their attempts to unify otherwise heterogeneous populations (Marzouki, McDonnell and Roy 2016). Religion, it is said, is one among several elements that serve populists in the process of formation of a valorized majority and a demonized minority.
Is there something else to be said about the contemporary transformations of the religious field that helps us understand the traction of populism in the contemporary moment?