The European Extreme Right and Religious Extremism
The European Extreme Right and Religious Extremism

Summary/Abstract: The ideology of the Extreme Right in Western Europe is rooted in Catholic fundamentalism and Counter-Revolutionary ideas. However, the Extreme Right, like all other political families, has had to adjust to an increasingly secular society. The old link between religion and the Extreme Right has thus been broken and in fact already was when Fascism overtook Europe: Fascism was secular, sometimes even anti-religious, in its essence. Although Catholic fundamentalists still retain strong positions within the apparatus of several Extreme Right parties (Front National), the vote for the Extreme Right is generally weak among regular churchgoers and strong among non-believers. In several countries, the vote for the Extreme Right is stronger among Protestant voters than among Catholics, since while Catholics may support Christian-Democratic parties, there are very few political parties linked to Protestant churches. Presently, it also seems that Paganism is becoming the dominant religious creed within the Extreme Right. In a multicultural Europe, non-Christian forms of religious fundamentalism such as Islamism also exist with ideological similarities to the Extreme Right, but this is not sufficient to categorize Islamism as a form of Fascism. Some Islamist groups seek alliances with the Extreme Right on the basis of their common dislike for Israel and the West, globalization and individual freedom of thought.

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