First European head of state in an official meeting with Reza Pahlavi, Zelenskyj of course has a lot to gain with Pahlavi at the helm - but hopefully this sets an example for the rest of the European countries. https://x.com/i/status/2022347131458028014

Across political systems, leaders have increasingly invoked religious language and symbolism to legitimize power, frame conflicts as moral or spiritual struggles, and place authority beyond democratic scrutiny. If people are worried about the growing influence of Islam in global politics, they should be equally worried about Christianity-or any religion-when it is fused with state power. In Russia, this fusion of religion and power is explicit. Vladimir Putin has portrayed Western liberalism as morally corrupt and even “satanic,” framing Russia as a civilizational defender of traditional Christian values. This rhetoric is reinforced by senior officials: Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, has described the war in Ukraine as a “sacred battle” against Satan, explicitly invoking Satan, Lucifer, or Iblis. The Russian Orthodox Church, under Patriarch Kirill, has openly blessed the invasion and framed it as a moral struggle, functioning as an ideological partner of the state and sacralizing a war of aggression. This logic is not unique to Christian contexts. In Iran, senior clerical leadership—including the Ayatollah—has long framed its struggle against the West and Israel in cosmic and spiritual terms, portraying political enemies as forces of evil, corruption, or satanic influence. In this worldview, opposition is not merely political disagreement but alignment with metaphysical evil. Hungary provides a similar pattern within a formally democratic system. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán consistently frames his political project as a defense of “Christian democracy” against a morally decayed, post-Christian Europe. While less overtly theological, this framing still uses religion as a civilizational boundary to justify authoritarian governance and resistance to democratic norms. In the United States, religious symbolism has also entered political authority. Donald Trump has framed his leadership in providential terms, stating that he believes God saved his life so that he could “make America great again.” This worldview is echoed by figures in his orbit, such as Pete Hegseth, whose book American Crusade (Crusade?? Really??) explicitly casts contemporary politics as a religious struggle. More recently, official policy language from the Trump administration has characterized “anti-Christianity” as an ideological threat, embedding religious identity directly into national security framing.