How do politicians weaponise Christianity? In conversation with Tobias Cremer

May 19, 2026 · 38 min · Season 12 · Episode 3

About this episode

Nick Spencer interviews Tobias Cremer about the evolution of Christian politics in Europe and its implications.

European Christian politics is not new. Indeed, the religion has been an integral politcal factor for 1700 years. But something has changed over the last 20 years. Increasingly, a secularised form of Christian politics is taking centre-stage, in which populist leaders celebrate Christianity, but without the Christ bit. What forms does this secular Christianity take? How does it differ between Europe's major nations? And why may we be seeing not the Americanisation of European politics (as many claim) but the Europeanisation of American politics? Today, Nick Spencer speaks to Tobias Cremer, a Member of the European Parliament and former Junior Research Fellow in Religion and the Frontier Challenges at Pembroke College Oxford, about the history of European Christian nationalism, and about his latest book, The Godless Crusade: Religion, Populism and Right-Wing Identity Politics in the West . Tobias' book is available to purchase at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/godless-crusade/EAA250C071364E6DACE3EC0BE31B3C65

People in this episode

Host: Nick Spencer

Guest: Tobias Cremer

Topics covered

Christian politics
secularism
populism
European nationalism
identity politics
Americanisation
Europeanisation

Keywords

Christianity
politics
secularism
populism
nationalism
identity
Europe
Americanisation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: European Parliament, Pembroke College Oxford, Cambridge University Press

Books & works: The Godless Crusade: Religion, Populism and Right-Wing Identity Politics in the West