Islam and Christianity: Influence on Leadership

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The religious beliefs of societies affect how they react to daily life experiences. Karl Marx stated that religion is the opium of the people, and this statement is made evident through how religion shapes the belief systems of communities (Pedersen, 2017). For most people, religion is the first sense of community that people are often introduced to, even before they attend school. Religious beliefs affect the ideologies people identify with; hence it determines how political leaders run the government. There are significant differences in political leadership styles, which are influenced by the religion with which people identify. The current influence of religion over political leadership is not a thing of the present; it has been in existence throughout history. In the west, the Catholic Church played a significant role in controlling state governance and people’s capacity to embrace change. Similar to Christianity, Islam also greatly influences leadership styles, especially in the Middle East. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast the contribution of Islam and Christianity to change leadership. Religion significantly affects national and organizational leadership and hence it influences the extent to which people are able to adapt to change.

The Influence of Christianity versus Islam in Political Leadership

Christianity is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, who emphasized the importance of promoting love by upholding the virtues of justice and the common good. Countries whose largest demography is Christians believe in the importance of treating fellow human beings with dignity and creating an enabling environment for them to lead a quality life. Human dignity in Christian countries is promoted through the bill of rights. The Bill of Rights was passed to guarantee that a country’s citizens are treated with respect regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, or ethnic background (Heifetz & Donald Laurie, 2002). On the same note, Islam countries have a bill of rights; the fundamental rights are justice, freedom, security, and the right to life.

Christian countries promote the common good by implementing the ethnic principle of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism emphasizes the most significant interest for most people, which the government facilitates via public amenities, student loans, security, and employment (Bolman & Deal, 2017). Regarding justice, both Christians and Islam believe that people should respect others and treat each other the way they would prefer to be treated. Similarly, both Christians and Muslims suggest that people that break the law are supposed to be punished for their wrongdoing, hence the need for correctional centers like jail. The concept of punishment is present in Christianity and Islam and is related to the idea of hell.

Although it is not prevalent, forgiveness is present in both Christian and Islam politics and state law. Forgiveness is granted to inmates through pardons, which are given to the lucky few who have improved their behavior. However, Christian and Islam’s countries differ on the issue of capital punishment. While most Christian nations have obliterated capital punishment, many Islamic countries practice it. Nevertheless, there are several exceptions in Christian lands where capital punishment is legal such as the twenty-seven states in the USA.

Islamic countries believe God is the fundamental law and political leaders are God’s instruments. Unlike most Christian countries, Muslims take religion seriously, and hence breaking rules that the state has passed is viewed as a sin to God. In contrast, Christian countries claim that God ordains quality leaders, but they tend to separate state laws and divine laws (Davis & Jones, 2018). They selectively apply some religious principles in national governance and business leadership. Divinity does not influence political leadership as much as it affects Islamic politics. For instance, Islam countries are more stringent on abortion as it is treated as a crime; the Quran influences this rationality. Abortion in these countries is only the last resort and is only deemed necessary to save the mother’s life. As much as the Christian bible advises against any form of murder, many countries that Christianity guides have considered abortion legal. Moreover, the financial accounting guidelines used in Muslim states hail from the Quran. Therefore, political officials in Muslim states have minor corruption and financial scandals because most of their values are strictly guided by their religion. Consequently, business people in Muslim countries uphold the virtue of accountability as there are significantly fewer cases of financial fraud as compared in Christian nations.

As illustrated above, religious nationalism is the tendency for nations to blend national and religious objectives in a manner that reinforces each other. The traditions of Christianity and Islam affect how countries are run and the type of laws passed. As a result, it acts how people can cope with changes even in their places of work. Both Christian and Islam nations are interested in promoting the common good and human dignity for all citizens. Nevertheless, there are numerous differences in the political leadership of countries that mainly subscribe to the Christian faith compared to Islamic countries. Islamic countries are considerably stricter and stauncher as compared to Christian lands. Therefore, in comparison, citizens of Christian countries have a more flexible and relaxed approach to life and are better at embracing change either concerning national law or within the organizational setting.

References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. John Wiley & Sons.

Davis, H., & Jones, S. (2018). The work of leadership in higher education management. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 36(4), 367–370.

Heifetz, R. & Donald Laurie. (2002). The Work of Leadership. Web.

Pedersen, E. (2017). Religion is the opium of the people: An investigation into the intellectual context of Marx’s critique of religion on JSTOR. Web.

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Islam and Christianity: Influence on Leadership

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