Tobias Cremer is a Junior Research Fellow in Religion and the Frontier Challenges at Pembroke College Oxford and a stipendiary lecturer in Politics at Wadham College Oxford. His research focuses on the relationship between religion, secularisation and the rise of right-wing identity politics throughout western societies. In his doctoral research (University of Cambridge, funded by the ESRC) Tobias explored how right-wing populist movements in Germany, France and the United States employ Christianity as a cultural identity marker, and how believers and church authorities are reacting to such referencees.
Tobias holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was a McCloy Fellow, an MPhil in Politics and International Studies from Cambridge University, and a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Sciences Po Paris. Across his career, he has worked in the German Parliament, the German Federal Foreign Office, and in management consulting.
Research summary
- Right-wing Populism
- Religion and Politics
- International Relations
- Identity Politics
- Religion and Diplomacy
- Secularism
- Christian Democracy
Research interests
Elections and electoral politics, Comparative Politics and Government , Groups, Identities and Social Movements, Conservatism, Identity, Liberalism, Nationalism, Political Parties, Public Policy, Religion
Media
"Religious fervour is migrating into politics", Research interviewee for The Economist (27.03.2021) https://www.economist.com/united-states/2021/03/27/religious-fervour-is-migrating-into-politics
"Staying with the Trouble", Podcast Interview with the William Temple Foundation (27.10.2020) https://williamtemplefoundation.org.uk/podcast/?fbclid=IwAR1qywc7KSqTdFdP5IJaQQ6RdXQvLIFxyZk2jXoJr1EvnLltd29dFZmtGqs
“When Religion and Populism Mix” Podcast Interview with the Providence Magazine’s Foreign Policy ProvCast (30.04.2020) https://providencemag.com/podcast/ep-49-when-religion-populism-mix-christianity-germany-france- donald-trump/
“National Populism and Christian Symbolism: A Conversation with Tobias Cremer”, Interview with the Berkley Forum, (27.01.2020), https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/posts/national-populism-and-christian-symbolism-a- conversation-with-tobias-cremer.
“The Berlin Wall”, Radio Guest on BBC Radio “All Things Considered”, (12.11.2019),https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000b787.
“The Rising Right in Europe”, Radio Guest for BBC Radio 4 Documentary, (18.03.2019),https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002lvs.
“The Far Right and Christianity”, Panel Participant on BBC Radio 4 “Beyond Belief”, (03.12.2018),https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001d9k.
“Defenders of the Faith: Why Right-Wing Populists are Embracing Religion”, New Statesman Cover Article, (30.05.2018), https://www.newstatesman.com/2018/05/defenders-faith-0.
Publications
"A Religious Vaccination? How Christian Communities React to Right-Wing Populism in Germany, France and the US." Government and Opposition, 1-21 (2021). DOI:10.1017/gov.2021.18 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/government-and-opposition/article/abs/religious-vaccination-how-christian-communities-react-to-rightwing-populism-in-germany-france-and-the-us/D9024C99467049AD9B108ED1F9863E0C
"Why are Christians in Germany more immune to far-Right populism than in the US?" Open Democracy (12.07.2021) https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/global-extremes/why-are-christians-germany-more-immune-far-right-populism-us/?utm_source=tw
"Democracy After God: Faith, Populism and the Limits of Postreligious Politics", Breaking Ground (19.05.2021) https://breakingground.us/democracy-after-god/
A Religious Awakening: Faith-based Responses to the Rise of Illiberal Nationalism, Co-authored volume with Elcott, D., Anderson, C. & Haarman, V. (2021): Notre Dame University Press. https://undpress.nd.edu/9780268200602/faith-nationalism-and-the-future-of-liberal-democracy/
"Nations under God: How Church–State Relations Shape Christian Responses to Right-Wing Populism in Germany and the United States", Religions 12: 254. MDPI. (2021). DOI: 10.3390/rel12040254 https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/4/254
"Is Europe's Far Right Serious about Rethinking Its Attitude toward Judaism?" Mosaic Magazinee (12.04.2021) https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/politics-current-affairs/2021/04/is-europes-far-right-serious-about-rethinking-its-attitude-towards-judaism/
“Defenders of the Faith? Religion, National Populism and the Rise of Right-Wing Identity Politics”, Religion, State, and Society, (forthcoming), Routledge: Print ISSN: 0963-7494 Online ISSN: 1465-3974.
"The Capitol Storming Epitomizes the Shift from a religious to Post Religious Right" Providence Journal on Religion and American Foreign Policy, Providence Magazine (27.01.2021). https://providencemag.com/2021/01/us-capitol-storming-epitomizes-shift-religious-to-post-religious-right/
"Civil Religion vs. White Nationalism: Which role for Christianity in American Poliitcs?" Georgetown Berkley Forum (22.01.2021). https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/civil-religion-vs-white-nationalism-which-role-for-christianity-in-american-politics
“The Armenian Genocide and America’s Global Role: A Review of Laderman’s Sharing the Burden” (Book Review), Providence Journal on Religion and American Foreign Policy, Providence Magazine (14.09.2020)https://providencemag.com/2020/09/armenian-genocide-america-global-role-book-review-charlie-laderman-sharing-the- burden/
“Herbert Butterfield: Britain’s Reinhold Niebuhr?”, Providence Journal on Religion and American Foreign Policy, Providence Magazine (20.04.2020) https://providencemag.com/2020/04/herbert-butterfield-britain-reinhold-niebuhr/
“The Resistance of the Protestant Church in Nazi Germany and its Relevance for Contemporary Politics”, The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 17:4, 36-47, (2019) Taylor and Francis, DOI: 10.1080/15570274.2019.1681728.
“The German Jihad: Germany, Britain, and the Geopolitics of Islam”, The British Interest (06.12.2019) https://britishinterest.org/the-german-jihad-germany-britain-and-the-geopolitics-of-islam/
“The Religion Gap: Why Right-Wing Populists Underperform Among Christian Voters and What This Means for the Role of the Church in Society”, LSE Religion and Global Society Series, (20.12.2018),http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2018/12/the-religion-gap-why-right-wing-populists-underperform-among- christian-voters-and-what-this-means-for-the-role-of-the-church-in-society/.
“The Geopolitics of Renewable Energy” (Contributing author), Harvard Kennedy School Faculty Research Working Paper Series, (2017). https://research.hks.harvard.edu/publications/getFile.aspx?Id=1554.