Reconceptualizing Church and State: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Separation of Religion and State on Democracy

Brathwaite, Robert; Bramsen, Andrew

doi:10.1017/s1755048311000137

Cited by 31 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Finally, the results of this study tap into newly created measures on how the state regulates religion. Previous studies have already examined how the separation between the church and the state are associated with democracy measures (Fox ), and how the lack of state regulation on religion may in fact “impact citizen equality and levels of democracy” (Brathwaite and Bramsen , 235). State interventionism on religion also is linked to how it facilitates the rise of political violence illustrated by violent rebellion and civil wars spurred in part through the discriminatory practices and legislative policies aimed against ethnic religious minorities (Akbaba and Taydas ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

State Regulation of Religion and the Quality of Governance

Tusalem

2015

Politics & Policy

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The effect of state regulation of religion on governance has been explored theoretically by scholars, but it has not been tested empirically across nation states. The theory posits that secular states are more likely to benefit from better governance because of the absence of clerical involvement in politics, paving the way for the expansion of civil society and the passage of progressive political, economic, and social reforms. Using a unique dataset of more than 100 nation states, I find that countries with higher levels of state intervention on religion are more likely to suffer from inferior governance as reflected by higher levels of corruption and political instability and lower levels of rule of law entrenchment, bureaucratic effectiveness, and regulatory quality. Furthermore, states wherein there is no distinct separation between church and state are more likely to have lower levels of political openness and accountability.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

State Regulation of Religion and the Quality of Governance

Tusalem

2015

Politics & Policy

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“…Others argue more explicitly that democracy is only possible in secular societies or at least in those with strong separation of religion and state. They consider that stable democracy in religiously divided societies is possible only if complicated power-sharing arrangements are present (Lijphart 1997;Kalyvas 1998;Brathwaite and Bramsen 2011;Vlas and Gherghina 2012). Overall, these positions implicitly reflect the taken-for-granted privatization of religion that characterized democratization in Europe, as well as the neat religion versus political divide that is taken for granted in IR scholarship.…”

Section: Religion Democracy and Democratizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Institutional Relations Rather Than Clashes of Civilizations: When and How Is Religion Compatible with Democracy?

Césari

Fox

2016

int polit sociol

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This study develops and examines the concept of hegemonic religion and its relationship with democracy. A religion is hegemonic not only when the state grants that religion exclusive material and political privileges and benefits, but also when the religion is a core element of national identity and citizenship. We empirically examine the link between hegemonic religion and democracy using the Religion and State round 2 (RAS2), Polity, and CIRI datasets. We specifically use religious education policy, financing of religion, and religiously based laws as measures of the extent of religious hegemony in a state. We find that the presence of these religiously hegemonic traits, especially in combination, is strongly associated with a lack of democracy. However, it is possible for democracies to have some hegemonic features but not all of them.

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“…Restrictions on religious freedom are also contrary to the status quo values in much of the developed world, and the question of whether and to what extent religious regulation is compatible with democracy is subject to a lively debate (Brathwaite and Bramsen, 2011; Driessen 2010; Fox 2007; Sarkissian 2012). Freedom of religion is a fundamental value of the United States that is built into its institutional design, and regulation of religion may be viewed as undemocratic and inconsistent with such values.…”

Section: Religion and Recognition: Domestic And Transnational Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Two States in the Holy Land?: International Recognition and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Mirilovic

Siroky

2015

Politics and Religion

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How do states decide to extend or withhold international recognition in cases of contested sovereignty? We focus on how religion shapes the incentives of states in making this decision, both at the domestic level through religious institutions and at the international level through religious affinities. States with transnational religious ties to the contested territory are more likely to extend recognition. At the domestic level, states that heavily regulate religion are less likely to extend international recognition. We test these conjectures, and examine others in the literature, with two new data sets on the international recognition of both Palestine and Israel and voting on the UN resolution to admit Palestine as a non-member state observer, combined with global data on religious regulation and religious affinities. In cases of contested sovereignty, our results provide support for these two mechanisms through which religion shapes foreign policy decisions about international recognition.Word count: 7,882

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Reconceptualizing Church and State: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Separation of Religion and State on Democracy

Cited by 31 publications

References 25 publications

State Regulation of Religion and the Quality of Governance

State Regulation of Religion and the Quality of Governance

Institutional Relations Rather Than Clashes of Civilizations: When and How Is Religion Compatible with Democracy?

Two States in the Holy Land?: International Recognition and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

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