The Distortion of Religious Freedom: Experts Reveal Populism’s Dangerous Impact

A newly released volume, Religious Freedom and Populism: The Appropriation of a Human Right and How to Counter It, tackles the growing global threat of populism to human rights, particularly the right to freedom of religion or belief. The book’s contributors analyze how populist movements, especially those from the far-right, appropriate and distort this fundamental right, turning it into a hollow term or even manipulating it to achieve their own agendas.

The volume highlights the rhetorical strategies used by populists to misrepresent religious freedom, showcasing how these tactics vary across different nations. The authors also explore the social dynamics that allow such appropriations to thrive and propose ways to counter these distortions. Strengthening democratic debate and reinforcing human rights are central themes throughout the work.

One of the book’s editors, Bernd Hirschberger, serves as a human rights advisor for the German Commission for Justice and Peace. Hirschberger, who holds a PhD from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, has an academic background in external communication during asymmetric conflict in social media. His co-editor, Katja Voges, heads the Human Rights and Religious Freedom Team at missio Aachen and brings her experience in intercultural and interreligious dialogue to the volume. Voges holds a theological PhD focusing on religious freedom in Christian-Muslim dialogue.

This book provides crucial insights for understanding and combating the appropriation of human rights in today’s political landscape, emphasizing the importance of preserving religious liberty as a universal human right.