How do religion and media shape contemporary nationalism? In this webinar, UCSIA Summer School alumni Daniel Nilsson DeHanas and Marko Veković discuss Christian nationalism in the US and Russia through two striking case studies.
On 2 April 2026 (13:00–14:00 CET), the UCSIA Summer School will host an online webinar exploring the complex entanglements of religion, populism and nationalism. In When Faith Meets Power: Christian Nationalism and Populism in the US and Russia, two alumni of the UCSIA Summer School – Daniel Nilsson DeHanas (King’s College London) and Marko Veković (University of Belgrade) – present new research on the role of Christianity in contemporary political narratives.
The webinar brings together two striking case studies. Daniel Nilsson DeHanas examines the circulation of “spiritual memes” on the social media platform Truth Social that portray Donald Trump as a divinely chosen leader. Through a content analysis of these online images, he explores how digital media can function as a “charisma factory”, reinforcing Trump’s charismatic authority and apocalyptic populist appeal.
His research will appear this summer in a chapter in the edited volume Media and the Spirit of Populism (Johanna Sumiala, Katja Valaskivi, Kaisa Tiusanen and Helmi Halonen, eds.).
Marko Veković, in turn, analyses the relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian state. Drawing on his research on religion and nationalism in Russia, he will discuss how religious narratives and institutions are mobilized in contemporary nationalist ideology, including the notion of the “Russian World” as a civilizational and geopolitical project.
His work builds on his recent chapter Religion and Nationalism in Russia in the Routledge Handbook of Religion and Nationalism (edited by Jeffrey Haynes).
Both speakers participated in the UCSIA Summer School earlier in their careers (in 2008 and 2015 respectively) and have since become leading scholars in the field of religion and politics. Their presentations illustrate how religious symbols, narratives and media continue to shape political identities and national imaginaries in different parts of the world.
Practical details
Date and time: Thursday 2 April 2026, 13:00-14.00 CET
Location: Online via Zoom
Registration is free.
Click here for more information on the webinar and registration details.
The webinar is organized in the lead-up to the UCSIA Summer School 2026, which will take place in Antwerp from 23–28 August 2026. Applications for the fully funded programme are currently open for PhD candidates and early-career postdoctoral researchers interested in the relationship between religion, digital media and politics.
Click here for more information on this year’s summer school.