Far-Right Ecology As the New Christian “Culture of Life”

Ecologism is an underexplored theme in the study of the intersection between religion and the far right (Lubarda 2024, Ungureanu and Popartan 2024). However, the publication of the Laudato si’ Encyclical in 2015 marked a significant reframing of climate change and other major ecological issues by embedding them within the anti-gender and anti-choice doctrines that have defined religious activism in recent decades. Since then, the concept of 'human ecology' introduced by Pope Francis has been reinterpreted and adapted by Catholic far-right parties such as Vox in Spain, alongside other trends in green nationalism previously developed by ideologues like Roger Scruton (Green Philosophy, 2014) and political movements such as Rassemblement National in France and Fidesz in Hungary.

In this presentation, we will explore the particular merge of Catholic doctrine and the new far-right ecologism. We will analyze the language and arguments of Vox's emerging “true ecology” in Spain, including its paradoxical (yet consistent) portrayal of progressive ecology as a “green religion.” Additionally, we will examine key aspects of the Laudato si’ Encyclical that support this new far-right eco-discourse, with special attention to the bioethical principles that link ecological and anti-gender doctrines. Finally, we will expose how far-right ecologism has become the new front in the “Culture of Life” versus “Culture of Death” Christian narratives.

Scruton, R. (2014). Green philosophy: How to think seriously about the planet. Atlantic Books Ltd.

Francis, P. (2015). Laudatio si (Praise be to You). Encyclical Letter on Care for our Common Home.

Lubarda, B. (2024). Far-right ecologism: environmental politics and the far right in Hungary and Poland. Routledge.

Ungureanu, C., & Popartan, L. A. (2024). The green, green grass of the nation. A new far-right ecology in Spain. Political Geography, 108, 102953.