Religious populism in Portugal: The cases of Chega! and CDS - People’s Party

A pertinent and contemporary approach to the phenomenon of populism in Portugal must consider the subtype of religious populism. With the de-privatization of religion and, subsequently, of religious populism, it has become possible to identify two types of religious populism: modernophobia and Islamophobia. Building on this theoretical framework, this article analyses the religious populist discourse associated with the identity and cultural dimension and right-wing parties such as Chega! and CDS - People’s Party. Despite the differences between the parties in the way they use religious arguments in their political discourse, the current Portuguese political context follows the trend of religious de-privatisation, which may pave the way for religion and religious populism to increase their prominence in the public space and political agendas.