Role of Religious Influence on Politics

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Role of Politics in the Economy
Influence of Religion
Religion and Politics
Factors Influencing the Relationship between the Church and Religion
Instances of Religious Influence on Politics
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Chapter seven of Johnstone’s text is the most interesting chapter. The chapter dwells on religion and politics and shows how religion has continued influencing politics and how the two institutions are related.

Parallels between the two institutions are also quite interesting especially when the author brings out their authority in the society and implicitly shows that the two are not foes but do complement each other. This essay seeks to show how the author brings out the relationship between religion and politics and the fact that the church will continue influencing politics for long due to several reasons.

Role of Politics in the Economy

Two distinct characteristics distinguish politics. Politics is normative in nature, which manifests in the way decisions are arrived at, the methods of executing certain activities, and the expectations created concerning rights and preferences (Johnstone).

In other words, politics lays down rules and regulations that govern the society as well as the goals for such a society. Politics sets the steps necessary to achieve such goals and determines how and when each individual exercises their rights and what privileges apply to various individuals (Johnstone).

Politics also involves the process of delegating the sovereign power of the people to individuals who use coercive power to execute set goals, which involves securing the society and protecting the people (Johnstone). The individuals entrusted with the coercive authority and the institutions therein make up the government.

The government must use coercive power because individuals seek to gain from the same limited rewards and failure to regulate or use coercive power would result in chaos and disorder. Such rewards include finances, prestige, power, and love among others (Johnstone).

It is the nature of human beings not to get contented with what they get at any particular time and as such, each person wants more of what they have and is constantly striving to increase the rewards such as money, affection and possessions (Johnstone). This results in discrepancy between supply and demand and competition ensues as people try to secure their share (Johnstone).

It is in this situation that politics and government regulate the methods of achieving such rewards. As such, Harold Lasswell’s definition of politics fits into such a situation. He defined politics as who gets what, when, and how (Johnstone).

Influence of Religion

Religion affects political life in every society in different ways and under different circumstances. At times, the church is not so successful in pushing its agenda concerning political life but several instances prove that the church still influences the political life of the society and more so in America.

The major areas that religion has influenced in the past include the design and motivation of the civil rights movement, the citizens’ support for World War I and World War II as well as in the Prohibition Amendment of 1919 in America (Johnstone).

The church participated in such events directly or through organizations, movements and coalition of churches. What then is the relationship between religion and politics?

Religion and Politics

Theocracy does not recognize state as a distinct entity but as an entity subservient to the authority of God, as exercised by religious leaders. The religious leaders therefore govern the whole society on behalf of God (Johnstone). The theocracy in the Old Testament where a prophet was both a political leader and a spiritual leader is similar to such an idea of the religious leaders being the sole voice of authority in the society (Johnstone).

Another type of relationship between the state and the church manifests in modified theocracy where the church and state exist as separate entities but the state remains under the control of the church in all affairs and aspects (Johnstone). In this arrangement, the state serves as the enforcement agency of the church due to the inherent nature of human beings to deviate from morals.

Such a scenario played out between the government of Sri Lanka and Buddhism up to nineteenth century (Johnstone). No other person could be enthroned as a king as this was for Buddhists only. The monks had a lot of influence in the political life to the extent of either initiating a revolution or preventing one and every king had to get their support to rule smoothly (Johnstone).

In some states however, leaders exercised totalitarianism, which sought to either eliminate religion or fully control it. The Soviet Union tried to eliminate religion but it was not possible and such the state opted to manipulate the church fully (Johnstone).

A middle stance between the extremes of theocracy and totalitarianism emerged when the state and the church separated. The relationship between the two institutions exists for the human being. Religion serves the soul while the state takes care of temporal needs of the person.

However, such a separation is more of a theoretical possibility than a pragmatic one (Johnstone). The separation is partial since the institutions attend to the same people and must necessarily overlap in their duties to the individual. The United States of America entrenched the concept of separation of church and state but it is yet to achieve it in totality (Johnstone).

Factors Influencing the Relationship between the Church and Religion

Robert Fowler presents two factors that dictate what type of relationship exists between the church and state. The first factor is the type of theology that the specific religious group adopts concerning involvement in the political process (Johnstone).

If the theology of a religious group outlaws members from directly participating in the political process, then the relationship of the particular church and the state is distant. Some groups have implicitly allowed direct participation in the political process as evidenced by their members when they vie for political positions and the religious leaders seek to support particular candidates based on several reasons.

The second factor closely relates to the first factor. It involves the consideration of the type of unity and the participation of the religious leaders in social activities. Lack of unity in the group dictates the level of involvement of the clergy in social action programs (Johnstone). Such was the case during the civil rights movements when members could not agree on whether to support their leaders to join or support such groups.

Instances of Religious Influence on Politics

Overall, religion continues influencing politics in various ways. Concerning the political process, the church in America influences the voting patterns. It is common for political leaders to classify religious groups as voting blocs and seek support from such groups. This gives rise to certain concepts as ‘Catholic vote’, ’Jewish vote’, ‘Baptist vote’ and the ‘Evangelical vote’ (Johnstone). This shows that the leaders understand that the various religious groups can influence how their members vote.

Historically, Republicans in America have always found favor in the Anglican Church while the Jews and the Catholics have always preferred the Democrats (Johnstone).

In survey carried out by Gallup research group in Great Britain in 1974, the Conservative Party got a lot of support from the Church of England while the Labor Party got a majority of its votes from the members of the Catholic Church (Johnstone). However, such patterns change from time to time due to other factors like the economy but the church remains a major player in the political process.

The influence of the church manifests in the legislative process especially where such legislation involves issues of morality. Several laws known as the blue laws in America reflect the church’s influence on legislation. Such laws restrict operating of business enterprises on Sunday, dictate the distance that should exist between an education center and restaurants, restrict sale of alcoholic drinks and others touch on selling and supplying of contraceptives (Johnstone).

The church influenced the Eighteenth Amendment of 1919, which banned the selling of a majority of alcoholic drinks in the United States of America (Johnstone). The lobby group behind the amendment, Anti-Saloon League, received backing from the church and drew its membership mostly from the churches (Johnstone).

The influence of the church manifests in the education field too especially where picking of board members for schools is concerned. The church seeks to have members who will stick to its stance on morality issues, members who can defend the church in its fight against sex education, same sex unions and contraceptives among other areas. Such strategies arise within the Christian Right organization and members of the Christian Right become members to the school boards (Johnstone).

Lastly, in the recent past, the inclusion of the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag has generated a heated debate between the atheists to an extent of some atheist suing the state to compel it to delete the phrase (Johnstone). Overall, the phrase remains entrenched in the pledge up to date. Another phrase is in the motto, which states, “In God we Trust”, and controversy has built around it too (Johnstone).

Conclusion

The church and state exist to attend to the same members of the society. Each is significant in its own right and must not be in conflict with the other. They should instead complement each other since absolute separation of the church and state is not achievable. The members of the different religious groups are the same members who take up different positions and roles in the government. As such, instead of seeking to separate, the two institutions should seek to work together for the benefit of the members of the society.

Religion influences the political process but not in the same pattern every time. Classes within the society as well as issues of the economy too, influence the voting patterns. However, some churches have a high percentage of members of a particular class and this might give the church more influence in the political process.

In matters concerning morality, the church is not keen on losing the battle. This is evident when the church seeks to influence various legislative processes that concern issues like same sex unions and birth control. Lastly, the two institutions must take care of the minorities and special groups like the atheists.

Works Cited

Johnstone, Ronald L. Religion in Society: A Sociology of Religion. 8th Edition. Pearson: Prentice-Hall, 2007. Print.

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