Public Religion and State Transformation: Zero-Sum Game or Fruitful Partnership?

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander-Kenneth Nagel

AbstractModern nation states appear to be under siege: economic transactions and environmental pressures come along in global dimensions and along with transnational mass communication and religious communities call into question the paradigm of secular nationalism. While political scientists have supplied useful heuristics to examine the transformation of modern states under these conditions, they have widely disparaged the religious factor as a premodern atavism. Scholars of religious studies, on the other hand, have celebrated the 'new' publicity of religion, but established an overtly antagonistic concept of religion and the state. In this article I try to connect the two debates by arguing that the role of public religion for state transformation can be understood in institutionalist terms of public-private partnerships rather than as a zero-sum game.

2021 ◽  
pp. 089692052110405
Author(s):  
James Foley

This research examines the interacting role of processes of state transformation – namely, devolution and Europeanisation – in the development of Scottish nationalism. It draws on the concept of ‘member statehood’, examining how relationships within nation states have been transformed by the European dynamic. Superficially, Scotland seems to contradict central aspects of this theory: the main citizen mobilising response to Brexit has been in Scotland and aimed precisely at restoring a notional Scottish popular sovereignty by re- joining the EU. However, an analysis of Scottish political development reveals a more complex picture putting state transformation theories in a more sympathetic light. Scottish independence emerges as a complex, contradictory response to post-neoliberalism and the crisis of member-statehood. While Europeanism has proved a useful tool for competing forces in Scotland, it has been refracted through problems of a ‘democratic deficit’ and claims for the ‘restoration’ of sovereignty appealing to disenchanted voters.


2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (10) ◽  
pp. 1395-1414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward A. Tiryakian

Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities has redrawn understanding of the loci and agents of modern nationalism. Whereas standard interpretations had privileged the movements of modernity of Western nation-states, Anderson’s analysis gave priority to the role of peripheral elites in “imagining the nation” beyond the boundaries of the everyday world. What Anderson leaves out altogether in his seminal study is the bearing of the religious factor in various peripheral settings in such regions as sub-Sahara Africa and East Asia. This article, extending Max Weber’s notion of charismatic leadership, proposes that in concrete cases of “colonial situations” in Africa and in two East Asian countries of weak states, religio-political figures arose seeking a new social order that had mass appeal. Their successes and failures should be seen as integral comparative aspects of nationalism and modernity


2015 ◽  
pp. 163-171
Author(s):  
Olga Nedavnya

In today's conditions, the heavy resistance of Ukrainians to Russian aggression, which is carried out, with the exception of the military, by way of information and economic methods, and now also through a non-gossip "hybrid" confrontation, it is very important to properly evaluate and play an appropriate role in this religious and religious factor. "Russian World" is no less effective weapon of the Moscow Church in the war with Ukraine than the military aid of the Russian state to the separatists .. Religious communities have their potential in educating citizens - patriots of their homeland, or else. Different aspects of the problem of the role of religious-church factors in patriotic education of Ukrainians have long been in the zone of justified attention of domestic secular scholars and representatives of the Churches, among them: A. Kolodny, L. Filippovich, V. Shevchenko, P. Pavlenko, O. Sagan, C. Zdioruk, M. Cherenkov, O. Tuyeshin and others. Particular attention of the RCC and Protestant Churches in this regard was given by P. L. Yarotsky


2015 ◽  
pp. 211-219
Author(s):  
Vita Tytarenko

The paper interpreted religious communities participate in the formation of civil society as the space establishment of universal values. The author analyzes the degree of self-organization of society at this stage, its main objective characteristics and role of the religious factor.


The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Europe offers a detailed overview of religious ideas, structures, and institutions in the making of Europe. It examines the role of religion in fostering identity, survival, and tolerance in the empires and nation-states of Europe from Antiquity until today; the interplay between religion, politics, and ideologies in the twentieth century; the dialogue between religious communities and European institutions in the construction of the European Union; and the engagement of Catholicism, Protestantism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism, and Eastern religions with the idea of Europe. The Handbook closes with an overview of European nation-states, focusing on history, demography, legal perspectives, political authorities, societal changes, and current trends. Written by leading scholars in the field, the Handbook is an authoritative and up-to-date volume which demonstrates the enduring presence of lived and institutionalized religion in the social networks of identity, policy, and power over two millennia of European history.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 137-142
Author(s):  
ALEXEY ROMAKHIN ◽  

This article reveals the problem of the role of the religious factor in the formation of the value orientations of the military personnel of the Russian army from its inception to the present state. In the article, the author reveals the significance of the Church in the formation of the value orientations of military personnel. The problem of religious situation in foreign armies is considered. The article presents data from sociological studies confirming the increase in the number of religious servicemen in the modern Armed Forces. The concept of “religious factor” is revealed. The author suggests considering the influence of the religious factor on the formation of value orientations through the functions of religion. The article provides examples of the influence of religion on the formation of value orientations of military personnel from the time of the Baptism of Russia to the present. Examples of writers of Russian classical literature about the influence of religion on the morale of troops are given. Examples of religious participation in major battles and wars of the past years are shown. The significance of the religious factor in uniting the people and the army is shown. The work of officials of the Ministry of defense of the Russian Federation in strengthening values among military personnel in modern conditions is demonstrated. The role of the Minister of defense of the Russian Federation, General of the army S.K. Shoigu in strengthening the faith of the Russian army is outlined. Issues related to the construction of the Main Temple of the Armed Forces and its impact on the public masses were discussed. In this study, the author aims to show the significant role of religion in the formation of value orientations in Russian military personnel. The analysis shows an increasing role of religion in the minds of military personnel in modern conditions.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
abdul muiz amir

This study aims to find a power relation as a discourse played by the clerics as the Prophet's heir in the contestation of political event in the (the elections) of 2019 in Indonesia. The method used is qualitative based on the critical teory paradigm. Data gathered through literary studies were later analyzed based on Michel Foucault's genealogy-structuralism based on historical archival data. The findings show that, (1) The involvement of scholars in the Pemilu-Pilpres 2019 was triggered by a religious issue that has been through online social media against the anti-Islamic political system, pro communism and liberalism. Consequently create two strongholds from the scholars, namely the pro stronghold of the issue pioneered by the GNPF-Ulama, and the fortress that dismissed the issue as part of the political intrigue pioneered by Ormas NU; (2) genealogically the role of scholars from time to time underwent transformation. At first the Ulama played his role as well as Umara, then shifted also agent of control to bring the dynamization between the issue of religion and state, to transform into motivator and mediator in the face of various issues Practical politic event, especially at Pemilu-Pilpres 2019. Discussion of the role of Ulama in the end resulted in a reduction of the role of Ulama as the heir of the prophet, from the agent Uswatun Hasanah and Rahmatan lil-' ālamīn as a people, now shifted into an agent that can trigger the division of the people.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Noval Setiawan ◽  
Sarbini Sarbini

The people who live in Anggrasmanis village, consist of various kinds of religions. There are Islam, Christian, and Hinduism. The tolerance between religious communities in Anggrasmanis village was maintained even though it was often tinged with tension and suspicion. This encourages religious figure to build communication. This study aims to describe how the pattern of communication inter-religious figures in Anggrasmanis village, so attitude of tolerance is born. The type of research used  is a qualitative description method with qualitative approach. Data collection techniques using observation, interviews, and documentation. Researchers’ finding communication patterns of religious figures in Anggrasmanis village are linear communication patterns and circular communication patterns that occur in direct conversation between religious figures and direct feedback. The role of religious figures to building tolerance at Anggrasmanis village is by participating in activities at the village such as religious holidays.


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