Media and the Spirit of Populism (Routledge Research in Religion, Media and Culture)

Media and the Spirit of Populism explores the role of contemporary media in the formation, dissemination, and circulation of the spirit of populism. These cutting- edge contributions to the field, written by an interdisciplinary range of contributors from across the world, cover key topics including:

• New religious nationalisms
• The spirit of populism in Virtual Reality
• Apocalyptic populism in the 2024 Trump Campaign
• Truth, the self, and agency
• The rise of charismatic populist leaders

This book maintains that the idea of the "spirit of populism" helps to illuminate aspects of societal and political life that extend beyond the grasp of political science or sociological analysis of populism. By exploring dimensions of the spirit of populism, this book sheds light to these elusive aspects of political life; the shared sense of deeper truth, a true reality, some kind of transcendent dimension, and a sense of sacredness that has a transformational potential toward ideas of belonging/ exclusion and can motivate political engagement and participation.

This engaging volume will be an essential read for those within the fields of media and communication studies, religious studies, sociology, political science, feminist scholarship, and critical cultural studies.

Katja Valaskivi is Professor of Religious Studies and Media Research at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Johanna Sumiala is Professor of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Kaisa Tiusanen is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Helmi Halonen is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, Finland.