The Origins of Secular Institutions

Abstract

Why do some countries adopt secular institutions while others do not? The Origins of Secular Institutions offers a theory that combines ideational and organizational mechanisms to understand the origins of institutional secularization. The theory proceeds in two moves. First, it focuses on why political groups with a secularizing political agenda emerge. The argument is that the circulation of Enlightenment literature among the elite and the existence of associations through which the elite could exchange ideas were the main factors that influenced the early emergence of secularizing movements. Second, the theory turns to the conditions under which these movements succeed. The book argues that secularizing political groups have a comparative disadvantage in recruiting grassroots support because, unlike religious actors, they cannot rely on a preexisting institutional structure. Secularizing groups overcome this obstacle if they have time to build a robust organization before religious political movements emerge and if the social landscape includes civic associations that they can utilize. The book supports these arguments by combining statistical analysis of original historical data with comparative historical analysis of countries in Europe (France, Spain, United Kingdom) and the Middle East/North Africa (Turkey, Morocco, and Tunisia). The comparative analysis evaluates the fine-grained empirical implications that follow from the causal story that relate to the timing and sequence of events. Overall, the book contributes to the literatures on political institutions, religion and politics, and state formation by developing and corroborating a novel theory that links the dissemination of ideas and organizational timing to the emergence of secular institutions.