Religious populism in Portugal: The cases of Chega! and CDS – People’s Party

Abstract

A pertinent and contemporary approach to the phenomenon of populism in Portugal must consider the subtype of religious populism. With the de-privatization of religion and, subsequently, of religious populism, it has become possible to identify two types of religious populism: modernophobia and Islamophobia. Building on this theoretical framework, this article analyses the religious populist discourse associated with the identity and cultural dimension and right-wing parties such as Chega! and CDS– People’s Party. Despite the differences between the parties in the way they use religious arguments in their political discourse, the current Portuguese political context follows the trend of religious de-privatisation, which may pave the way for religion and religious populism to increase their prominence in the public space and political agendas.