Religion and Politics Essay

Searching back to its beginnings, religion has a profound impact on cultural identity through the presence of deep and ancient roots that connect a people to their glorious, memorable and often idealized histories. By equating a given religion with the success of a society often times national pride and religious pride become intertwined. Though this manifests itself differently in each country, throughout all four surveyed this attribute seemed to be present.

Religion can be powerful under the right certain circumstances for social change. However it can be argued that religion can be a conservative force.

Through history, religion has shaped civilizations in several aspects. In ancient Indian and Egyptian civilizations it was very strong shaping force in political structures, but both the religious beliefs and the resulting political system were different, just like pharaohs were different from rajas.

In politics, today, religion overlaps politics in many aspects. Considering that religion has become more open and in America, supposedly separated from church and state, one would be lead to believe that the progression has separated them entirely, at least in the United States. However, looking back at the Renaissance, one can only make the argument that religion has become less influential, but is still predominate. Such as in political factions, where people tend to agree with like-minded individuals creating parties.

In early American history, religion and government played pivotal roles and have continued to even today. However, the size of the roles religion and government have played have fluctuated in relation to each other. Religion had more sway over the government and the people in early American society, however today it has significantly less visible power over the government, it still holds influence over many of the people both as voters and officials, as well as legislation.

Indeed, the conviction of religion gives humans the ability to stand against anyone and anything thus making religious groups a force to reckon. Religion is a symbol that acts to “establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivation in men formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that they seem uniquely realistic.” Examples of this influence include the Islamic movement, the strong influence the Pope has on the Catholic movement, and the impact the Pentecostal movement had on the US government. The worldview contributes to the aspects of living, which include lifestyle, customs, thoughts, philosophies, beliefs, and culture. These aspects seem to change with different generations causing even greater conflict amongst interest groups in policymaking. Indeed, individuals in opposite factions or groups may agree based on facts but sharply differ on conclusions simply because of their different worldviews. A classic case of the worldviews influence is gay

Religion is a concept that controls the decisions in governing a country; however, many were overpowered to represent such religion they did not correspond with. In American history, the New World gave the people the fallacious promises to escape religious persecution. Nonetheless, having different beliefs caused war, diverse opinions in politics, the economy, and even slavery. The title of a religious leader was not used to respect God, but in a way to overpower civilians and deceive them.

It was starting to look as if politics were beginning to become more secular. As it is well known, after Kennedy’s assassination, Lyndon B. Johnson carried out the rest of Kennedy’s term, and then ran for reelection in 1964. Johnson, a left-leaning Democrat found himself up against Barry Goldwater from the right-minded Republican Party. Early on in the 20th century, many of Protestant denominations had adopted progressive, social reformist doctrines, that many people still value to this day. Despite being Protestant, Goldwater’s platform took a much more conservative approach. This ended up backfiring on him, however, as many Christian publications stated that they opposed Goldwater’s policies. He was further stigmatized by the religious publication The Christian Century as turning his patriotic rhetoric into “religious nationalism.” To make matters worse for Goldwater, in October of 1964, less than a month before the general election, 725 Episcopalian clergy and laymen from forty-one states signed a resolution accusing him of “a transparent exploitation of racialism.” Richard Nixon, a Republican and ex-Vice President at the time, claimed that these allegations were “the most vicious in political history.” As a result, Lyndon Johnson won the 1964 election in an unprecedented landslide victory, with Barry Goldwater only winning six states: his native Arizona, and five states in the heart of the Bible Belt (Kosmin 1993:174-5). While religious leaders in the end

According to her, it often surprises a lot of people when they find out just how prominent religion proves to be in the election itself (Himmelfarb 1). “Both in society and in the polity, Religion not only has power and influence in politics but also plays a huge role in elections and who will gain power in our Democratic system” (Himmelfarb 1). According to Michael Barone in his article Dividing the Religious Vote published in U.S. News, the lines that divide American voters most deeply are not economics, gender, ethnicity, or even race, but religion. In 1992, the five- percent gender gap and the 24 percent gap between top and bottom level income groups were dwarfed by the gap among voters of different religions. To enlighten us as to voting habits of people with faith, Barone gives the example of Jews and those who areof no religion. Seventy-percent of them voted along Democratic lines while evangelical Protestants were 70 percent Republican. Similar results have appeared in both 1994 and 1996 polls (Barone 1). The power that these religious groups have is also evident in Barone’s article. Barone brings to us facts about the 1988, 1992, and 1996 elections. He states that presidential candidates

Throughout history, leaders have been known for getting involved in topics that don't concern them, such as religion. In medieval times, kings and queens had the power to alter people's opinions, regarding religion. Religion was very important to the people. Religion and politics were always intertwined because religious and political leaders interfered with each other. In medieval Europe, Pope Gregory VII, the Crusades, and Justinian are examples of political and religious topics closely linked.

There are many factors that have an impact on the American government and society. One main factor is religion. Religion, defined by Webster’s Dictionary, is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. The predominant religion of the United States is Christianity, and the minorities include Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and Atheism. The United States has a long history of being known as

Throughout time religion has influenced civilizations in a range of aspects. For instance, Catholicism influenced kings and nations in ancient Europe in the similar manner Polytheism influenced the Rome Empire. Religion has the power to cause wars, such as the Catholic Crusades. Yet, the main power is the ability to mask the true intentions of people.

How does Christianity impact individuals, culture, and government? History has proven that religion influences individuals and society. It provides a moral code for individuals to live by and creates structure and unity for society. Some religions however, can have a negative effect on societies, but Christianity has continually proven to improve a society. First, Christianity affects an individual’s view of self, others, and God. Second, without Christianity, a culture’s traditions, family structure, and values are adversely affected. Thirdly, the absence of Christianity in government often results in misguided leaders, a weak foundation, and liberal laws. Overall, Christianity significantly influences individuals, culture, and government

In today’s world, religion plays a profound part in many people’s lives and they find it important to firmly follow the guiding principles of a religion. Religion has been

In this course, I found the connection between religion and politics the most important concept we’ve studied. With engagement and understanding of politics becoming increasingly important, it’s valuable to study the ways people both interact with politics and form their political opinions—and as we’ve seen, religion can play a huge role in both of these aspects. However, the way religious groups engage with politics can perhaps be generalizing when discussing major religions, seeing as these groups are often widely diverse and brimming with unique experiences. Therefore, I believe it is just as important to discuss the political dimension of religion with the social influences of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and the interrelations between them.