Right-wing populism and political instrumentalization of religion: The Italian debate on Matteo Salvini's use of religious symbols on Facebook

The study investigates the online debate sparked by the political instrumentalization of religious symbols by right-wing populist leaders, taking as a case study the campaign communication of Matteo Salvini—leader of the Italian “Lega” party—in the run-up to the 2018 and 2019 general and European elections. Against the backdrop of theories on populism, religious publicization and politicization in a social media context, the research analyzes over 2,000 Facebook posts referring to Salvini and religion by using a mixed computational and qualitative method including semi-automated frame analysis and correspondence analysis. Results show that right-wing populism is capable of successfully appropriating religious symbols and setting the agenda for religious topics on social media, even challenging the authority of traditional religious authorities on their own ground. By attacking the Church, defending the religious sentiment of the people, and opposing Christian identity to Islam, religion is effectively integrated into the populist worldview.