European Apostasy: The Role of Religion in the European New Right in Bloomington, MN

"Pawel Bielawski is both a specialist in the history of religion and a highly knowledgeable authority on the so-called 'New Right'. In his book, he addresses a little-known subject with method and precision. His work undoubtedly provides an excellent foundation for a substantive discussion of the topic." - Alain de Benoist
The Right in Europe is traditionally associated with Christianity, and opposition to this tradition is typically equated with revolution. The New Right, however, as initiated by Alain de Benoist, is founded on different axiological premises. According to its proponents, the true bedrock of European civilisation was not Christianity but ancient paganism - Greco-Roman as well as Slavic, Germanic, Celtic, and others. From this standpoint, it is Christianity that constitutes the revolutionary force, having overthrown the authentic European pagan
ancien régime
.
The New Right represents an effort to reclaim not only the heritage of the past two millennia of the Christian era but also to recover much older strata of European tradition. Triumphant Christianity constructed itself atop an already existing, fully developed civilisation. For adherents of the New Right, the sacred text of Europeans is not the Bible but Homer's
Iliad