ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the paradoxical relationship of populist movements to civil society and to religion. It argues that while populist movements and religious associations emerge and flourish in civil society, the logic of populism and of politicized religion is antithetical to the underlying principles of civil society and, ultimately, to democracy itself. The chapter identifies the specific logic of populism ideal typically, and analyzes the difference between populist and other, self-limiting social movements. It explores the contemporary link between populism and religious identity politics. The chapter analyzes the tensions and affinities between populist logic and political religion. If the populist temptation and the lure of politicizing religion may be to stay, a vibrant open civil society remains the best hope for resisting these challenges and generating alternatives. Civil society is a contested concept. But every conception involves three parameters – plurality, publicity, and privacy, however variously they are interpreted.
