The Politics of Religion

The Politics of Religion

The relationship between religion and politics is deep and difficult to fathom and treat the two disciplines separately completely. Politics affects the leadership of society, while religion shapes how society should be run. The world has different religions, such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The religions often conflict on different issues and agree on different issues. Nonetheless, it is difficult not to see the role of religion in politics. Religion has been scrutinized by many scholars with regard to how it affects society. In sociology, religion helps in providing social cohesion to maintain social unity through shared rituals, beliefs, and practices. It also provides social control through the enforcement of religious-based morals and norms that help in maintaining conformity and control in society. Religion also provides meaning and purpose to answer different questions concerning life. The religious beliefs and interpretations, on the other hand, form the basis from which political leaders argue concerning different debates. Religion very influential in society, and its ability to bring social cohesion has seen it used as a political tool on many occasions. The benefit of religion is that it makes the governance of societies easier, and the establishment of moral values does not always have to follow an objective argument. For instance, abortion debates in Christian only communities are non-existential and not worth debating. Also, the dress codes and other codes regarding Islam are in the constitution of the Middle East, yet there are no significant challenges. The challenge potentially arises when politics is in complex societies such as the United States. The politics of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism establish the basis of political preferences and discourses that, in turn, affect how policies in the affected societies are served.

The Politics of Christianity

Christianity is well engaged in politics cannot be defined by the arbitrary lines drawn in politics. Christianity, as a religion, was established long ago and had the Bible to govern Christian politics. Politics, on the other hand, is a changing environment where the laws keep changing. A better interpretation of the Bible leads to debates in politics, such as the debate on abortion and marriages. However, an interpretation of the law cannot lead to a change in the Bible or Christian perspectives (Iyabo, 2014). Politics in Christianity is a controversial subject, but Christianity itself has political conduct that is used to govern Christian communities.  The controversial nature of Christian politics is that some Christians argue that religion does not advocate for the political involvement of Christians. However, other Christians argue that they will be exercising their rights as citizens and that it is a God-given mandate to lead. The saying that leaders are chosen by God does not hold true when Christians fail to show up for the politics or even vote for their leader. The dominant side of Christian politics is involved when Christian beliefs are given priority in shaping policies that affect the norms and beliefs of a society. The Bible is typically the Christian constitution; it contains all the guidelines on the Will of God. The Bible likened to a constitution as attracts different interpretations by different members of the Christian community. Christianity is the most dominant religion around the world, and world leaders are known for acknowledging Christian perspectives during their administrative roles.

Christianity and politics converge due to the Bible and diverge due to political opinions and different perceptions. The Bible defines what Christians believe and what they do not. It is only natural in the era of democracy that the majority of a population will come out victorious in such a debate. The latter has seen Christian beliefs become largely integrated into politics and modern culture. Christianity is also a relatively flexible religion. Unlike other religions where human beings are tasked with punishing offenders, in Christianity, the punishment is left to God on many occasions. The latter means that many mistakes, that are perceived as lacking too much importance are often neglected. Abuses and other utterances, for instance, are not lightly taken when they do not touch on key areas. Leaders who affiliate themselves with Christianity and God often gain public approval. Consequently, their decisions are not often scrutinized as leaders associated with other religions. Churches are extensively involved in politics to increase awareness of political debates and policies that will affect society.

Political Judaism

Judaism is a religion consisting of different aspects of Christianity and Islam. Judaism is a religion that, although not well established, has managed to interfere with politics in different parts of the world. The forefather of Judaism is often thought to be Abraham, who is also a significant figure in Christianity. Abraham also traveled, and it is believed that he went through the Middle East, a region known for the Islamic religion, and established Judaism in the area. The religion is often practiced by Jews and determines how a typical Jewish society should establish itself or run. Judaism is deeply rooted in politics. God is often thought and associated with political roles and functions or relations. God is the King and rules over the entire world. The religion also has a law that affects elected people. The history of Judaism is marked with themes that are encapsulated in the Covenant of Mount Sinai, where God addressed the people after they left Egypt and give them the laws to follow (Sizer, 2010). Israel is often thought of as a Kingdom and a nation that was selected by God. The relationship between Judaism and politics is in-depth as the religion itself is a political project that aims to Unite Israel under the history of their ancestors. The covenant with God can be deemed as the constitution which has since then governed the Judaism community.

Judaism, though relatively low in the contemporary world, has shaped world politics over thousands of years. The Sinai covenant also introduced leadership positions among the Israelites, which is a prime example of a political environment. The election, covenant laws, prophecy, priesthood, monarchy, and redemption, are all rooted in the Judaic religion-political core. The Judaism religion also saw Jews develop different institutions and regimes in the religious and political sectors of society, such as communities, nation-state, and monarchies. The positions have undergone evolution and continuous canonization and redaction to curve world politics in the current era. The Judaic practices are evident across Western history, as evidenced by different national liberation movements. The political nature of Judaic theology contains numerous discourses that emerge from problems concerning the legitimization of human politics, which is different from historical Judaism. Leaders in the ancient period were selected by God or left for a specific generation. However, politics has been secularized, and now the people choose their own leader. The latter complicates the political direction of Judaism as it provides a contradiction to the beliefs of the religion. It is not possible to contemplate how leaders who should be chosen by God are chosen by human beings instead. Such aspects have seen the Judaic community or states become rebellious and stringent as there is a lack of political stability due to the criteria used in selecting a leader. Nonetheless, society has evolved from a theocratic perspective where politics and political matters were left for divine intervention. The society has accepted the application of the theological views into real-life scenarios where leaders are chosen by the people based on their policies.

Political Islam

Political Islam has attracted various scholars who attempt to understand how Islamic societies are governed. The Middle East is an epitome of how Islamic religion affects governance and politics. The region is a perfect example of the role that religion plays in politics. The important role played by religion in politics originates from the history of the region. The role of Islam has, on numerous occasions, been affected by political preferences, national policies, economic needs, and cultural patterns of the world. The latter is because the Islamic religion has laws that govern almost all aspects of life. Moreover, the Quran or Islamic religious book, like other religious books, is ancient. As such, it is difficult to contextualize the requirements of the religion in the modern era without conflicts between religion and politics arising. The latter is prevalent, as evidenced in how the Western countries and other parts of the world differ from the Middle East from the economic trends to cultural practices and systems of governance. A crucial point to note is that Islam, when implemented in a religious and stable environment to ensure governance provides peace and ensures accountable leadership. The latter is evident in successful countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. Most of these regions have stable leadership established through hierarchical systems in positions of top governance. On the contrary, regions that lack such are bound to engage in different civil disagreements, as evidenced by Islamic countries such as Egypt, Libya, Syria, and others that have experienced extended periods of instability.

Religion is used as a tool for social cohesion and can also cause division when used in the wrong way. The rise of religious extremism is rooted in some interpretations found in the Quran. The rise of ISIS and Al-Qaeda is affiliated with religious extremism. Muslim is clearly a peaceful religion that advocates for justice and strict measures hence cultivates discipline within the community. However, wrong misinterpretations such as those of jihad and martyrdom are a minefield and are responsible for millions of death (Rodriguez, 2017). Unlike Christianity, the Islamic faith is not much flexible, and making accommodations becomes increasingly difficult more so when the accommodations are different from the views in the religion. The latter has seen regions in the Middle East face challenges in adapting modernity in the current generation. The forces of civilization have shaped the modern world but are taking much longer and causing chaos in the Middle East. Feminist debates in the Middle East fail to address issues that affect how women are perceived in the Middle East. Women in the region are unable to go such oppressions as the rules are stringent, including death penalties (Cesari, 2018). However, the political structure established in Islamic states is highly shaped by the Shariah Law, the Arabic culture, and the Islamic religion, which affects the politics in the region.

Conclusion

There is a strong indispensable relationship between religion and politics. The three religions discussed; Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all have played different roles in the current political environment. Judaism is an ancient religion that shaped hierarchy, which has then evolved to represent the political powers and positions. The Islamic religion is a religion that seeks to ensure ultimate control of society and cohesion with utmost cohesion. The religion is strict on laws, and the laws affect different areas in society. The latter has seen the religion establish itself deeply in the governance and political environment in the Middle East. The region is arguably left behind in the era of modernization due to the impacts of the Islamic religion in the area. Christianity, on the other hand, encapsulates collective worldviews that are contradictory. However, there exists peace and cohesion when dealing with Christian communities since the punishment is left to God. Although the Bible cites examples of how certain punishments were administered in different contexts. The two testaments of the Bible ultimately let God decide on the appropriate judgments. The Islamic religion, on the other hand, invites members to fight for the purity of their faith. The religious beliefs, when applied in the wrong contexts, established religious extremism and civil wars in the Middle East. Politics and religion are, therefore, directly related to religion, taking the upper hand in most cases.