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The Many Faces of Christianism
The 'Russian World' in Europe
Series: - Political and Public Theologies, Volume: 7
Is the Russian invasion of Ukraine a âHoly Warâ? This book offers insights into the complex ideology of the Russki Mir or âRussian Worldâ, which must be understood as Russian-shaped world order or peace â but above all, a claim to the sacred.
The collected essays describe how Far Right politics in Europe and its resonances with the Russian World nod to the changing meaning of Christianism, defying and transforming the categories of religion and politics, and challenging common conceptions of the role of Christianity in European politics.
The collected essays describe how Far Right politics in Europe and its resonances with the Russian World nod to the changing meaning of Christianism, defying and transforming the categories of religion and politics, and challenging common conceptions of the role of Christianity in European politics.
Marietta D.C van der Tol is Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Cambridge, specialising in the comparative study of religion in politics, law and society. She is author of the book Constitutional Intolerance: The Fashioning of the Other in Europeâs Constitutional Repertoires (2025).
Sophia R.C. Johnson is a postdoctoral researcher at Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany. Her research centres on the political uses of and influences on interpretation of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. She has published in journals such as Journal of the Bible and Its Reception and the Journal of Biblical Literature.
Petr KratochvÃl is a full professor at the philosophical faculty of Charles University, and a senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations in Prague. His research interests include the religion-politics nexus, theories of international relations, European integration, and Russian foreign policy.
Zoran Grozdanov is an associate professor at the University Centre for Protestant Theology Matthias Flacius Illyricus in Zagreb. He is author of Domovina slikana tamjanom: teologija nacionalnog identiteta [Homeland Painted with the Incense: Theology of National Identity] (2023) and co-editor of the volume Balkan Contextual Theology: An Introduction (2022).
Sophia R.C. Johnson is a postdoctoral researcher at Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany. Her research centres on the political uses of and influences on interpretation of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. She has published in journals such as Journal of the Bible and Its Reception and the Journal of Biblical Literature.
Petr KratochvÃl is a full professor at the philosophical faculty of Charles University, and a senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations in Prague. His research interests include the religion-politics nexus, theories of international relations, European integration, and Russian foreign policy.
Zoran Grozdanov is an associate professor at the University Centre for Protestant Theology Matthias Flacius Illyricus in Zagreb. He is author of Domovina slikana tamjanom: teologija nacionalnog identiteta [Homeland Painted with the Incense: Theology of National Identity] (2023) and co-editor of the volume Balkan Contextual Theology: An Introduction (2022).
"This is an important and timely book. It explores the complex relationships between values, culture, identity, tradition, history, and religion; and the uses made of them by national conservatism and populist nationalism. In a time of war in Europe driven by Putinâs idea of the âRussian Worldâ, and of growing polarisation in many of the western democracies, this book will be of interest both to scholars and to general readers who wish to understand more about what lies behind the political headlines and slogans." â Sir Laurie Bristow, President of Hughes Hall, Cambridge University, UK Ambassador to Russia (2016-2020), UK Ambassador to Afghanistan (2021)
Foreword
Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Tables
Notes on Contributors
1 The Many Faces of Christianism: The âRussian Worldâ in Europe
âMarietta van der Tol, Petr KratochvÃl, Sophia Johnson, and Zoran Grozdanov
2 Populism and Religion: Why the Twain Will Always Meet
âPetr KratochvÃl
3 When a Light Cloak Turns into a Pious Cage: Thinking National Identity with Karl Barth and John Paul II
âZoran Grozdanov
4 Fratelli Tutti: A Failed Battle against Christian Nationalism?
âAnne Guillard
5 The Russian World, The Hungarian World, and Make America Great Again: Political Imaginaries and Their Spaces
âMarietta van der Tol
6 Russian World, Holy Russia: Towards a New Ideology?
âVeronica Cibotaru
7 Putinism and Alexander Solzhenitsynâs Religious Motifs
âDmytro Bintsarovskyi
8 From St. Paul and Carl Schmitt to Alexander Dugin: The Katechon as a Political Category in Empire Building
âDustin J. Byrd
9 Between Religious Nationalism and Universal Familism: Anti-Gender Movement Values in Croatia and Serbia
âIvan TranfiÄ
10 The Orthodox Church and the Greek Solution Party: A Stunted Political Relation between Adjacent Ideological Platforms
âKonstantinos Papastathis and Anastasia Litina
11 Belonging without Attending? National Identity and Contemporary Religious Patterns in Serbia
âMarko VekoviÄ
12 The Danish Peopleâs Party and the Heritage of Tidehverv: A National Example of a European Tendency
âErik Sporon Fiedler
13 Christianity, Religion and Christian Democracy
âKatharina Kunter and Leon van den Broeke
14 The European Union as a Space of (In)Securities: Analysing Political Reasoning by Lithuanian Catholics
âRosita GarÅ¡kaitÄ-Antonowicz
15 Theopolitical Visions of National Belonging: Resisting the Totalising Tendencies of Inclusion
âJenny Leith
16 The Contested Meanings of the Anglican Parish in Multireligious England
âLauren Morry
17 Concluding Reflection: The Call for Political Theologies after Christendom
âMarietta van der Tol, Petr KratochvÃl, Sophia Johnson, and Zoran Grozdanov
Appendix 1: A Declaration on the âRussian Worldâ (Russkii Mir) Teaching
Appendix 2: A statement of solidarity with the Orthodox Declaration on the âRussian Worldâ (russkii mir) Teaching, and against Christian Nationalism and New Totalitarianism
Index
Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Tables
Notes on Contributors
1 The Many Faces of Christianism: The âRussian Worldâ in Europe
âMarietta van der Tol, Petr KratochvÃl, Sophia Johnson, and Zoran Grozdanov
2 Populism and Religion: Why the Twain Will Always Meet
âPetr KratochvÃl
3 When a Light Cloak Turns into a Pious Cage: Thinking National Identity with Karl Barth and John Paul II
âZoran Grozdanov
4 Fratelli Tutti: A Failed Battle against Christian Nationalism?
âAnne Guillard
5 The Russian World, The Hungarian World, and Make America Great Again: Political Imaginaries and Their Spaces
âMarietta van der Tol
6 Russian World, Holy Russia: Towards a New Ideology?
âVeronica Cibotaru
7 Putinism and Alexander Solzhenitsynâs Religious Motifs
âDmytro Bintsarovskyi
8 From St. Paul and Carl Schmitt to Alexander Dugin: The Katechon as a Political Category in Empire Building
âDustin J. Byrd
9 Between Religious Nationalism and Universal Familism: Anti-Gender Movement Values in Croatia and Serbia
âIvan TranfiÄ
10 The Orthodox Church and the Greek Solution Party: A Stunted Political Relation between Adjacent Ideological Platforms
âKonstantinos Papastathis and Anastasia Litina
11 Belonging without Attending? National Identity and Contemporary Religious Patterns in Serbia
âMarko VekoviÄ
12 The Danish Peopleâs Party and the Heritage of Tidehverv: A National Example of a European Tendency
âErik Sporon Fiedler
13 Christianity, Religion and Christian Democracy
âKatharina Kunter and Leon van den Broeke
14 The European Union as a Space of (In)Securities: Analysing Political Reasoning by Lithuanian Catholics
âRosita GarÅ¡kaitÄ-Antonowicz
15 Theopolitical Visions of National Belonging: Resisting the Totalising Tendencies of Inclusion
âJenny Leith
16 The Contested Meanings of the Anglican Parish in Multireligious England
âLauren Morry
17 Concluding Reflection: The Call for Political Theologies after Christendom
âMarietta van der Tol, Petr KratochvÃl, Sophia Johnson, and Zoran Grozdanov
Appendix 1: A Declaration on the âRussian Worldâ (Russkii Mir) Teaching
Appendix 2: A statement of solidarity with the Orthodox Declaration on the âRussian Worldâ (russkii mir) Teaching, and against Christian Nationalism and New Totalitarianism
Index
This book will be of interest to scholars in Theology, Religious Studies, Politics, International Relations, History, and Anthropology and those forging interdisciplinary paths between them. The book will also be of interest to politicians and professionals whose work is closely related to the war in Ukraine, as well as religious organisations who would like to ground their response to the war in Ukraine with a firmer grasp of the theological stakes.