The Many Faces of Christianism - Political and Public Theologies Paperback

About the Book

This book expands the definition of Christianism by describing the complex ideology of the 'Russian World', its relationship to religion and politics, and its many resonances across Far Right politics in Europe.

Book Synopsis

Is the Russian invasion of Ukraine a 'Holy War'? This book offers insights into the complex ideology of the Russki Mir or 'Russian World', which must be understood as Russian-shaped world order or peace - but above all, a claim to the sacred.
The collected essays describe how Far Right politics in Europe and its resonances with the Russian World nod to the changing meaning of Christianism, defying and transforming the categories of religion and politics, and challenging common conceptions of the role of Christianity in European politics.

Review Quotes

"This is an important and timely book. It explores the complex relationships between values, culture, identity, tradition, history, and religion; and the uses made of them by national conservatism and populist nationalism. In a time of war in Europe driven by Putin's idea of the "Russian World", and of growing polarisation in many of the western democracies, this book will be of interest both to scholars and to general readers who wish to understand more about what lies behind the political headlines and slogans." -- Sir Laurie Bristow, President of Hughes Hall, Cambridge University, UK Ambassador to Russia (2016-2020), UK Ambassador to Afghanistan (2021)

About the Author

Marietta D.C van der Tol is Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Cambridge, specialising in the comparative study of religion in politics, law and society. She is author of the book Constitutional Intolerance: The Fashioning of the Other in Europe's Constitutional Repertoires (2025).
Sophia R.C. Johnson is a postdoctoral researcher at Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany. Her research centres on the political uses of and influences on interpretation of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. She has published in journals such as Journal of the Bible and Its Reception and the Journal of Biblical Literature.
Petr Kratochvíl is a full professor at the philosophical faculty of Charles University, and a senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations in Prague. His research interests include the religion-politics nexus, theories of international relations, European integration, and Russian foreign policy.
Zoran Grozdanov is an associate professor at the University Centre for Protestant Theology Matthias Flacius Illyricus in Zagreb. He is author of Domovina slikana tamjanom: teologija nacionalnog identiteta [Homeland Painted with the Incense: Theology of National Identity] (2023) and co-editor of the volume Balkan Contextual Theology: An Introduction (2022).