Religion and Politics: What Does God Have To Do with It?

Abstract

Since 9/11, and even more so with the atrocities committed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria, violence in the name of God is predominantly perceived as a "different" kind of violence, which triggers more "absolute" and radical manifestations than its secular counter parts. In its first part, this article will challenge this so called exceptionalism of religious violence by questioning the neat divide between politics and religion that makes any forms of interactions between the two illegitimate or dangerous. It will look specifically at state actions vis-à-vis religions since the inception of the nation-state and show that the most extreme cases of violence in the name of religion are actually closely associated with specific forms of politicization of religion initiated by "secular" state actors and/or institutions. It argues that the "hegemonic" status granted to a religion by the state is often associated with greater political violence, building on research conducted in Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, and Pakistan.

Restrição à Liberdade Religiosa no Mundo: Caracterização de Clusters e Definição de Modelos Explicativos

“…Fox, 2011a), os quais são todos contemplados no IRG do PRC. A restrição prática da liberdade religiosa, pelo estabelecimento de religião de estado e pela monopolização religiosa, sobretudo em estados islâmicos, interessa tanto às religiões majoritárias, ameaçadas pela globalização e pelas minorias religiosas (Bloom, Arikan e Sommer, 2014:273; Rahman, 2013:2), como ao estado, que pode controlar a religião para maximizar o seu rendimento e a sua legitimação, mais provavelmente em mercados religiosos altamente concentrados e com baixos níveis de democracia (Cosgel e Miceli, 2009:415-416), aos quais está habitualmente mais associada a violência (Cesari, 2015(Cesari, :1330Saiya, 2015:369). Esta re- lação religião/estado, claramente política, depende do tipo de regime, como se constata e vários autores têm evidenciado (AIS, 2017;PA, 2017;Finke, 2013;Fox, 2007Fox, , 2016Grim e Finke, 2007, 2011.…”

Racialization of public discourse: portrayal of Islam and Muslims

“…Thus, religiously legitimized extremist movements in the name of Judaism (Jewish Zionists), Christianity (Christian Violent Fundamentalism, Christian Identity), Islam (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Al Qaeda), Buddhism (Bodu Bala Sena), Hinduism (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) etc. under the supervision of hardline religious scholars can instigate violence against other religions to fulfil their political objectives, threatening world peace ( Cesari, 2015 ).…”