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On June 23, 2025, after nearly two months of interim administration, Romania has a pro-European Union government led by Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, a center-right former mayor from the National Liberal Party. The new government aims to implement major reforms and end the political turmoil that has marked the highest level of politicization of religion since the fall of communism.

On Sunday, May 18, after casting their votes in the second round of the presidential elections, the two candidates made public statements that summarized their positions. Voting in his hometown of Făgăraş, in Transylvania, the centrist Nicuşor Dan, a mathematician with a doctorate from the Sorbonne, stated:

“I came to the school where I studied. I voted with the thought of many people who are quiet, honest, hardworking and who have not felt represented for a long time […] I voted for a European direction and for good collaboration with our European partners and not for the isolation of Romania. I voted for a society in which we can have dialogue and not one in which we are divided. I voted with hope because Romania has people in Romania, and in the diaspora, it has people to build the Romania we want.”

His opponent, George Simion, a Trump admirer and leader of the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (Alianța pentru Unirea Românilor) (AUR), voted in Bucharest and stated:

“We voted against the inequities and humiliations to which our sisters and brothers have been subjected, and here, within our current borders and everywhere, we voted against abuse and against poverty. We voted against those who disregard us all, but at the same time we voted for our future to be decided only by Romanians, for Romanians and for Romania. So may God help us!”

Both statements showed that the presidential election was fundamentally centered on the issue of identity: for Dan, Romania’s institutional ties to a European identity were the most important, while for Simion, national identity took precedence. Despite Simion receiving 41% of the vote and Dan only 21% in the first round, Dan secured 800,000 more votes than Simion in the second round. The dramatic shift, occurring within just two weeks, was made possible by the exceptional mobilization of undecided voters, a decline in diaspora support for Simion, and the strong turnout of students who feared Romania drifting away from the European Union.

Founded in 2019, the Alliance for the Union of Romanians gradually emerged as the main opposition party by criticizing the slow pace of reforms, widespread corruption, and the mismanagement of EU funds. Similar to other far-right parties across the European Union, it capitalized on public dissatisfaction with political elites and promoted a nationalist agenda infused with religious symbolism.

According to a 2018 Pew Research Survey, Romania was the most religious country in Europe, highlighting the significant role religion plays in shaping voters’ preferences. The 2024 presidential elections were annulled by the Constitutional Court due to alleged Russian interference. Călin Georgescu, a political outsider running as an independent, won the first round of those elections by effectively spreading nationalist and religious messages through the TikTok platform. On March 1, 2025, at the start of the run-off campaign, AUR organized a demonstration in Bucharest against the government. Georgescu claimed the protest drew around 300,000 participants (while media estimates placed the number at just 15,000), in a sign of solidarity against the political elite, declaring: “We are united with each other and with God! (…) What God unites, no one can separate—neither man nor the system!” On March 7, Georgescu submitted his candidacy for the presidency to the Central Electoral Office, proclaiming that “democracy was resurrected” that day. He called on his supporters to sing the national anthem and recite the Our Father prayer in every city across the country. Ultimately, he was barred from running due to irregularities in his financial declarations.

The first round of the May presidential elections featured 11 candidates, many of whom employed religious rhetoric. Victor Ponta, a former Prime Minister who also ran in the 2014 presidential elections, frequently portrayed himself as a devout man. After Georgescu was declared ineligible, Ponta wrote on his Facebook page: “The good Lord ordains for each one a cross appropriate to his strength to resist, not to torment himself, but to ascend from the cross to heaven. The fight for Romania and for Romanians never ceases!” In an interview, when asked why he made so many references to religion, Ponta explained, “It’s something I feel and share much less than I show, because faith is inside and less outside. But I believe that among Romania’s national values, religion and the Church, along with the army and family, are truly essential. They are pillars on which a country can stand; without them, it collapses.”

Other candidates also invoked religion in their campaigns. During a public debate, Elena Lasconi, leader of the reformist Save Romania Union (Uniunea Salvați România), brought a Bible and asked Nicuşor Dan to swear on it that he had never lied. Daniel Funeriu, a former Minister of Education, declared that “A leader without faith is just an opportunist and a cynic. Without faith, a politician has the vision of a mole: dark, groping, short-term.” The candidates even included a former Greek Catholic priest, Cristian Terheș, who stated that, “There is no separation between politics and faith! You do politics out of faith, and you manifest your faith through what you do in politics. It is necessary for the Church to be involved in society (not necessarily in politics), because it is the only institution that can be a beacon and guide for society.”

Among all the presidential candidates, George Simion was the most active in combining religion with politics. He primarily communicated with supporters via TikTok, often ending his videos with “Doamne ajută” (“May God help”), a common blessing among the faithful. At the end of April, he visited Mount Athos in Greece and, speaking in a tone reminiscent of clergy, encouraged his followers: “Don’t lose faith. Our duty, as doers of justice […] means restoring constitutional order […].” During Holy Week before Easter, AUR sent a letter and a small financial gift (100 lei, approximately 20 euros) to all Orthodox clergy in Romania stating that, “We are conservative and sovereigntist parliamentarians, practicing Christians, who, in the turmoil of these times, need the guidance and paternal support of the Church, not for political gain, but for the salvation of the souls of Romanians and for a better destiny for our country.” On May 5, after results confirmed his first-round victory, Simion posted a photo of the Cathedral of National Salvation in Bucharest on Facebook, accompanied by the words: “Nothing without God!” On May 11, he traveled to London to attend the enthronement of Atanasie, the first Romanian Orthodox Archbishop of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, where he met with supporters. He decried the process of secularization in the West stating that “Everywhere, Romanians, Christians, do not forget their traditions. They go to church, they worship God, and I could say that at least in Western Europe, they manage to re-Christianize this part of the world that has lost touch with God.” Although the Romanian Orthodox Church officially maintained a neutral stance, many clergy expressed support for Simion, with Metropolitan Teodosie of Constanţa even attending a service to bless AUR’s headquarters in the city.

The politicization of religion by Romania’s far-right movement mirrored similar trends in Hungary, Italy, Serbia, Greece, and Poland. In Italy, Matteo Salvini was even portrayed by the media as being “more Catholic than the Pope,” while in Hungary, Viktor Orbán positioned himself as a defender of “Christian values” not only within his country but across Europe. In Serbia, far-right politicians were honored by Orthodox Church leaders, and in Greece, several senior clergy expressed support for the far-right Golden Dawn party.

In Poland, the narrow electoral victory of Karol Nawrocki, an independent backed by the far-right Law and Justice party, appeared to reinvigorate Romania’s far-right counterparts. An online article compiling Romanian reactions to the Polish elections revealed widespread concern over the growing entanglement of religion and politics. Many commenters criticized the trend, with statements such as: “I find it dangerous how much influence religion can have in an area where it shouldn’t have any,” and “I have rarely seen how much these ‘sovereignists’ have defiled the name of God, not only in Romania, but all over the world.”

Nicuşor Dan’s victory in the second round of presidential elections demonstrates that the politicization of religion can mobilize voters and benefit far-right political parties, however, it does not always win elections. As I argued in a recent article in The Review of Faith & International Affairs, a national program advancing the concept of covenantal pluralism, which emphasizes religious literacy, social inclusion, and a deeper understanding of the politicization of religion, could help mitigate the misuse of religious symbolism during national elections.

The economic reforms proposed by the new government and presidential administration will face challenges not only in terms of effective implementation but also in navigating a polarized political landscape where religious narratives continue to shape public discourse and voter behavior.