The ‘Religious Right’ in the 2020 Aotearoa New Zealand General Election

Abstract

This article investigates the unsettled relationship between religion and politics in Aotearoa New Zealand through a close study of the 2020 General Election. By examining three intersecting policy domains—health reform, Māori policy, and foreign affairs—the article examines the ways in which the New Conservatives, One Party, Vision New Zealand, and Advance New Zealand challenged normative paradigms of the ‘religious right’. While these groups’ moral conservatism loomed large in the public eye, their pursuit of radical possibilities for social change remains little understood. While these parties were often antagonistic and always provocative, a close analysis of their policies helps to situate how conservative, far-right, and progressive politics may be found knitted together in the political fabric of Aotearoa New Zealand. Recognising this reality is important for the left to counter extremism, foster progressive alliances, and productively imagine alternative futures.