In the name of power: how authoritarian regimes manipulate religion

We won't be fooled.

Before I begin, I want to clarify that while I don’t personally ascribe to any religion, I respect the need for faith. This essay doesn’t criticise religion but exposes how many in power are able to manipulate it for personal gain. It is a call to defend genuine faith — one rooted in love, kindness and empathy.

While promoting his new film, Conclave, actor Stanley Tucci told The Guardian: ‘[…] we create these ideas of God, or gods, because the world is chaos. It’s to dispel our fears. We have no control over our lives and that causes anxiety.’¹ There has never been more a time (at least in recent decades) when this has rung more true.

Indeed, the world is chaos. For most of us, it looks nothing like what we imagined it would be like as children. The milestones that once marked adulthood now feel out of reach, communication between men and women is breaking down and the once-hopeful vision of globalisation — of a connected world — is crumbling. Politics has become more divisive than ever, fuelled by misinformation, and young people, in particular, feel powerless in the face of mounting crises. After a global pandemic, it's no wonder that everything feels out of control.

So, does this uncertainty coincide with a rise in religious faith among young people? The answer is unclear. According to Pew Research, in 46 out of 106 countries, adults aged 18 to 39 are less likely than those 40 and older to consider religion very important.² Yet, a 2022 article in The Guardian reported that more young people in the UK are turning to prayer compared to 20 years ago.³ Many see it as a form of meditation — something to provide clarity, hope and connection in a world that feels increasingly fearful and incomprehensible.

None of this is difficult to understand. In fact, it speaks to the resilience of human nature — the ability to endure hardship by believing in something greater. To believe without seeing is a distinctly human trait, one of our greatest strengths.

While it remains unclear whether religious faith is increasing among young people overall, one trend stands out: young men are becoming more religious than young women. According to a 2024 Statista Consumer Insights survey in the United States, 74% of millennial men identified as religious, compared to 66% of millennial women. Similarly, 67% of Gen Z men reported being religious, compared to 60% of Gen Z women. This marks a stark reversal from previous generations.

Interestingly, The New York Times reports that Gen Z women score higher than men on measures of spirituality and attachment to God. However, they are increasingly leaving traditional religious institutions, while their male counterparts are more likely to regularly attend church or other places of worship. Raised in the era of the #MeToo movement — which also gave rise to #ChurchToo — and amid renewed debates on reproductive rights and gender roles, many young women are becoming disillusioned with institutional religion. According to the Survey Center on American Life, two-thirds of women aged 18 to 29 believe that most religious institutions do not treat the genders equally.

At the same time, young women — who are now more educated than ever — are questioning traditional structures and leaning more progressive, as reflected in recent US and UK elections. In contrast, young men increasingly idealise traditional family roles. This is reflected in family aspirations: among childless individuals, young men are 12% more likely than young women to express a desire to become parents someday.⁴

I cite these facts not to assign blame or criticise those who seek to deepen their faith, but because this trend is difficult to separate from the simultaneous rise in extreme-right radicalisation, conspiracy theories and misogyny — all of which predominantly target young men. Faith itself is not the root cause of these issues, but in times of uncertainty and chaos, fear becomes a powerful tool for control. A force that, in the wrong hands, can lead to our downfall. When institutions or ideologies offer a sense of order and conviction, they also shape narratives that reinforce rigid social hierarchies, particularly regarding gender roles. As we’ve seen, these roles influence reproductive discourse as well. Many religious conservative groups, for example, oppose abortion, a topic frequently used as political leverage.

The rise of radical content online has only intensified this risk, especially in the post-pandemic era, which saw strict COVID-19 restrictions, deepening economic inequalities and a growing distrust in government.⁵ In times of mass anxiety, fear-driven narratives thrive, creating the perfect breeding ground for radicalisation. This vulnerability is further exacerbated by Meta’s recent decision to end independent fact-checking, justified by Mark Zuckerberg as a move to uphold ‘freedom of expression’ and prevent political bias, but widely seen as an attempt to win Donald Trump’s favour.⁶

Speaking of Donald Trump — because how could we not — he recently declared at the National Prayer Breakfast that America needs to ‘bring religion back’. By that, of course, he means Christianity. He framed his near-fatal assassination attempt as an epiphany, claiming it reinforced his duty to bring the American people closer to God, a message reminiscent of his inauguration speech.

At its core, none of this is particularly shocking for a nation where the line between Church and State has arguably always been thin. But in the context of Trump’s character — as a convicted criminal and overt misogynist — his rhetoric takes on a more unsettling dimension. His recent actions only add to this, including how he condemned Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon at the National Cathedral prayer service as ‘nasty’, when she merely urged compassion for migrants and LGBTQ+ individuals. The moment was caught on live camera, his expression one of clear indifference, while J.D. Vance’s look of disgust spoke volumes.

‘Knowing that a lot of people in our country right now are really scared, I wanted to take the opportunity in the context of that service for unity, to say we need to treat everyone with dignity, and we need to be merciful, I was trying to counter the narrative that is so so divisive and polarizing, and in which people, real people, are being harmed.’

- Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, as cited in The Guardian⁷

This was a cry for empathy — the very cornerstone of religion and morality — yet it was cast aside with disdain. Because, let’s face it, empathy is for the weak, or so they want us to believe because it doesn’t serve their cause.

.Of note, in a Face the Nation interview back in 2024, Bishop Budde claimed she was deeply worried about how the message of Christianity was being ‘distorted’ by public officials.⁸ Despite urging people to read and apply the teachings of Jesus, comments on the interview demonstrate hostile feelings against her for simply expressing genuine concern, which I cannot personally comprehend.

Before this, at his pre-inauguration rally, Trump stood before thousands outside the Capital One Arena, surrounded by supporters in sweaters emblazoned with seemingly oxymoronic slogans like ‘Pro God, Pro Gun’ and ‘Proud J6er’ — a nod to the violent storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. In his speech, he vowed to pardon those imprisoned for their actions that day while simultaneously (and ironically) pledging to use any means necessary to drive undocumented immigrants out of the country. He also appeared to reference racehorse theory — the Aryan-inspired, Nazi-like idea that certain bloodlines produce superior offspring — when commenting on the intelligence of Elon Musk’s son.⁹

Since taking office, Trump has moved swiftly to turn these promises into action, surrounding himself with hand-picked cabinet members who seem to share his worldview. Many come with troubling backgrounds, from allegations of sexual misconduct to extremist conspiracy theories. For example, his defence secretary pick, Pete Hegseth, has faced sexual assault allegations and was even flagged as a potential ‘insider threat’ by fellow military personnel due to his tattoo reading ‘Deus Vult’ (Latin for ‘God wills it’), a rallying cry for Christian crusaders in the Middle Ages and now a symbol often linked to white supremacist groups.¹⁰ Additionally, his Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, has a history of attacking transgender rights and critical race theory, while his Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Stephen Miller, established America First Legal Foundation, a non-profit that has filed more than 100 legal actions against ‘woke’ corporations and sees itself as battling ‘anti-white racism’.¹¹ Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. brings worryingly severe vaccine skepticism into the administration, further cementing its far-right leanings.

And then there’s Trump’s right and left hand: Musk and Vance. The former, once an atheist icon, now calls himself a ‘cultural Christian,’ claiming that Christian beliefs ‘result in the greatest happiness’ and even linking declining birth rates to waning religious faith. While he professes admiration for Jesus’s teachings — particularly ‘love thy neighbour’ and ‘turn the other cheek’ — he simultaneously endorses the AfD, a far-right populist party in Germany known for its rhetoric laced with Nazi overtones.

And, well, X is the best example of what happens when you don’t turn the other cheek.

Meanwhile, Vance recently left Europeans speechless by openly blaming them for their own decline, arguing that censoring hate speech and far-right opinions contradicts the democratic values shared by the US and its allies — principles he claims to live by. His rhetoric, evoking the turbulence of the Wild West, culminated in a dramatic warning: ‘There’s a new sheriff in town’.

The irony in all of this is striking. Like religion, democracy, at its heart, ensures that all voices are heard and that people are valued equally in society. Yet, the Trump administration seems to reject this very premise, pushing an agenda to combat what they call ‘anti-white feelings’, a stance that includes banning books and dismantling corporate programmes designed to address racism and promote diversity in American life.¹² In reality, their allegiance to democracy, much like their so-called embrace of Christianity, is little more than a smokescreen: an illusion meant to convince the public that their actions are just, while they systematically undermine diversity and equality. It is a perverse manipulation of humanity’s core values in pursuit of inhumane goals.

All of this underscores the catastrophe that is American politics and Trump’s cabinet. But when we add their latest strategy — positioning Trump as a modern-day Messiah and using scripture to justify controversial, discriminatory executive orders — the danger becomes even more pronounced.

One key figure in this effort is televangelist Paula White, now leading the White House’s newly established Faith Office and serving as Trump’s personal spiritual advisor. Her appointment was sought to strengthen ties with religious conservatives but has been met with criticism from many prominent Christian voices, who argue that her teachings contradict biblical Christianity.¹³ This move followed Trump’s creation of a task force aimed at combating the so-called ‘persecution’ of Christians in the US.

White, host of the Christian TV programme, Paula Today, played a major role in Trump’s evangelical outreach, serving as chair of his evangelical advisory board during the 2016 campaign. She has drawn criticism for preaching the ‘prosperity gospel’, or the belief that God rewards believers with material wealth — a doctrine many Christians consider heretical. In fact, she has openly encouraged worshippers to donate the equivalent of their first month’s salary to her ministries, citing the ‘first fruit’ principle that all firsts belong to God. Following her appointment, she proclaimed: ‘When I walk on White House grounds, God walks on White House grounds’.¹⁴

It’s also worth noting that within the Christian evangelical movement, there is a long-standing belief that Israel’s conquest of Palestinian land and the oppression of Palestinians are justified by biblical prophecy. When viewed alongside Trump’s recent claims over Gaza territory, the connection is hard to ignore.¹⁵

In short, Trump’s attempt to forge a link between Christian conservatism and his government is unmistakable because he knows the benefits of aligning himself with religion. Think about it: if you’re a devout believer and you’re told that Trump was hand-selected by God (just as monarchs supposedly are), your faith would compel you to spread his message quickly. According to Pew Research, most White Christians supported Trump over Kamala Harris: 82% of White evangelical Protestants, 61% of White Catholics and 58% of White non-evangelical Protestants supported him.¹⁶

Trump has never underestimated the power of show business. His appearances in films, The Apprentice and beyond prove as much. And the first rule of entertainment, just like in marketing, is to find your audience. Once you have it, you tailor your content and perform for them. In an era of increasing loneliness and uncertainty, belonging to a group that idealises a ‘simpler’ past, especially one where men dominate, is highly appealing to those in a fragile state. Add religion to the mix, and the message spreads even faster, driven by a manufactured sense of urgency. Trump understands this and exploits it.

And he’s far from the only world leader to do so.

The use of religion to justify political violence and consolidate power is universal — no faith is immune. As journalist David Brooks wrote in The New York Times, while the post-Berlin Wall era seemed to promise a global shift toward liberalism, today, ‘authoritarians have found God’, using religion as a national identity marker to push their ideologies.¹⁷ The battle is no longer democracy versus dictatorship but rather a supposed moral struggle against Western elites.

Enter moral populism.

Vladimir Putin, like Trump, has allied himself with religious philosophers, such as Ivan Ilyin and Nikolai Berdyaev, positioning his regime as the last bastion of Christian values against what he brands as ‘liberal moral chaos’ — his version of ‘woke’ culture. In Europe, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has built her platform on Christian identity, earning praise from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who calls her a ‘Christian sister’. Both advocate for tougher immigration policies and the defence of so-called traditional family values against what they label the ‘LGBT lobby’.¹⁸ Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping has similarly called for a return to old customs and traditional values, presenting them as protection against Western moral decay.

Naturally, these agendas rely on media control and restricted access to information. But, more than anything, they depend on a steady stream of culture wars — rallying the masses against problems that hold little real weight, all while distracting from the true issue: them.

The fault isn’t in religion itself but in the power of religious language: its emotional pull and role in shaping identity. Leaders know that twisting scripture or invoking divine authority is a potent tool to validate their political agendas. After all, ‘this is the land God promised us’ is far more persuasive than ‘I want to take your land’.¹⁹ It also fuels division — essential for control — by framing an enemy as ‘the other’. Suddenly, people are united in a sacred battle against those who supposedly defy God’s will.

When I listen to Trump and other authoritarian leaders who manipulate faith for power, I can’t help but wonder how figures like Jesus — alongside pacifist leaders across all faiths — would react to what has become of their legacies. If Jesus stood before Trump’s congregation today, preaching love for one’s neighbour, care for the poor, humility and stewardship of nature (all of which he did), he’d be dismissed as a radical leftist. Imagine him quoting, ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God’. Would Trump, Musk and their posse of tech oligarchs praise his wisdom or dismiss him with a sneer, calling him ‘woke’? Would they roll their eyes at his teachings, branding him a naïve idealist who doesn’t understand the real world?

That’s the real dilemma: Jesus’s teachings — and the core of most faiths — clash with late-stage capitalism, where inequality deepens and kindness is commodified. How do we reconcile faith, a fundamental human need, with a system built on profit and competition? The answer isn’t found in authoritarian leaders hungry for power, despite their claims.

Faith should unite, not divide. It should be rooted in empathy, solidarity and justice, not used as a weapon for bigotry. Deep down, we all know what’s right. And standing against these wolves in spiritual sheep’s clothing is exactly that.

1. As cited in: Catherine Shoard, ‘Interview: “We create gods because the world is chaos”: Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci on celebrity, sin and papal thriller’, The Guardian, Nov 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/22/stanley-tucci-ralph-fiennes-john-lithgow-conclave-cardinals

2. Pew Research Center, The Age Gap in Religion Around the World, Jun 2018, https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2018/06/13/the-age-gap-in-religion-around-the-world/

3. Clea Skopeliti, ‘“God gives me reason to hope”: why young Britons are turning to prayer’, The Guardian, Sep 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/02/god-gives-me-reason-to-hope-why-young-people-are-turning-to-prayer

4. Ruth Graham, In a First Among Christians, ‘Young Men Are More Religious Than Young Women’, The New York Times, Sep 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/23/us/young-men-religion-gen-z.html

5. Richard Morris, ‘Researchers warn of rise in extremism online after Covid’, BBC, Dec 2022, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61106191

6. Liv McMahon, Zoe Kleinman & Courtney Subramanian, ‘Facebook and Instagram get rid of fact checkers’, BBC, Jan 2025, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly74mpy8klo

7. Anna Betts, ‘Who is Mariann Edgar Budde, the bishop who angered Trump with inaugural sermon?’, The Guardian, Jan 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/22/mariann-edgar-budde-bishop-trump

8. You can find an extract of the interview here:

9. David Smith, ‘Trump promises “historic” day one with barrage of executive orders’, The Guardian, Jan 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/19/trump-pre-inaugural-rally-j6-hostages

10. Bernd Debusmann Jr, ‘Trump cabinet nominees battle misconduct claims and controversy’, BBC, Nov 2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgl48r2wnx1o

11. Robert Draper, ‘America First Legal, a Trump-Aligned Group, Is Spoiling for a Fight’, The New York Times, Mar 2024, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/us/politics/stephen-miller-america-first-legal.html

12. Gram Slattery and Nathan Layne, ‘Trump vows to fight “anti-white feeling” in the United States, Reuters, May 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-vows-fight-anti-white-feeling-us-his-allies-have-plan-2024-05-04/

13. Lydia Davies, ‘Christian leaders condemn Trump’s appointment of televangelist Paula White’, Christian News, Feb 2025, https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/christian-leaders-condemn-trump-appointment-televangelist-paula-white

14. Susie Coen, ‘Trump’s new White House spiritual leader is a televangelist who speaks in tongues’, The Telegraph, Feb 2025, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2025/02/08/paula-white-trump-new-white-house-spiritual-leader/

15. James Zogby, ‘The abuse of religion to foster extremism is a universal phenomenon’, Fellowship Magazine, Jan 2023, https://wagingnonviolence.org/forusa/2023/01/abuse-of-religion-to-foster-extremism-is-universal-phenomenon/

16. Gregory A. Smith, ‘White Protestants and Catholics support Trump, but voters in other U.S. religious groups prefer Harris’, Pew Research Center, Sep 2024, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/09/white-protestants-and-catholics-support-trump-but-voters-in-other-us-religious-groups-prefer-harris/

17. David Brooks, ‘When Dictators Find God’, The New York Times, Sep 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/opinion/autocracy-religion-liberalism.html

18. ‘Hungary's Orban says Meloni is “Christian sister” who shares cultural roots’, Reuters, Sep 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungarys-orban-says-meloni-is-christian-sister-who-shares-cultural-roots-2024-09-06/

19. Same source as [14]