MAKING SENSE OF RELIGION IN POLITICAL LIFE (original) (raw)
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Religion and Political Mobilization
The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity
What is the role of religion in political mobilization? In this chapter, we examine developments in the literature as it considers the role of religion in political mobilization. Broadly speaking we outline two predominant lines of thinking about religion as a driver of political mobilization, the marketplace and theology. The former strand of thinking, we show, traces its roots as far back as the behavioral revolution and even further still. The second strand, popularized by global conflict events framed in religious terms, focuses on theology and differences between religions as motivating factors in mobilization. This line of thinking has largely been supplanted, while at the same time, it has forced the acknowledgment that while religion is an intervening instrument in mobilization
Religious Culture and Political Action
Sociological Theory, 1999
Recent work by political sociologists and social movement theorists extend our understanding of how religious institutions contribute to expanding democracy, but nearly all analyze religious institutions as institutions; few focus directly on what religion qua religion might contribute. This article strives to illuminate the impact of religious culture per se, extending recent work on religion and democratic life by a small group of social movement scholars trained also in the sociology of religion. In examining religion's democratic impact, an explicitly cultural analysis inspired by the new approach to political culture developed by historical sociologists and cultural analysts of democracy is used to show the power of this approach and to provide a fuller theoretical account of how cultural dynamics shape political outcomes. The article examines religious institutions as generators of religious culture, presents a theoretical model of how religious cultural elements are incorporated into social movements and so shape their internal political cultures, and discusses how this in turn shapes their impact in the public realm. This model is then applied to a key site of democratic struggle: four efforts to promote social justice among low-income urban residents of the United States, including the most widespread such effort-faith-based community organizing.
Empowerment through religion: religion’s survival strategies in democratic politics
Przegląd Politologiczny, 2016
In contemporary Western world religion has long lost its status of a default legitimating formula and has been relegated, in liberal political philosophy, to the private sphere. Institutionally, religious organizations have been largely separated from government institutions. Despite these adverse circumstances, religion – both as a system of ideas, values and norms and in its institutional expression – has adopted effective survival strategies guarding it from social and political marginalization. Religion has been accorded special status among other ideologies. In science, it results in a sort of methodological agnosticism, which treats religious and scientific statements as belonging to two incommensurable spheres. In politics, religious organizations are often granted special legal status among other political actors and religious freedom has been constitutionalized as a special case of general freedom of expression. As judicature and political practice show, religious arguments can often trump non-religious claims when fundamental value conflicts arise. In their political activity, religious organizations have used strategies characteristic for other political actors (lobbying, mass mobilization etc.), thereby gaining democratic legitimacy, as well as unique, religion-specific strategies. Armed with these and other empowering tools, religion can continue to influence democratic political systems in significant ways. Keywords: religion and politics in Poland; religion and politics in USA; political science of religion; political movements; religious political actors in liberal democracy
Analysis of the Relationship between Sociology of Religion and Social Movements
Pilar : časopis za društvene i humanističke studije, 2017
The study of social movements and the sociology of religion share similarities and they can benefit from each other. Theorizing for both fields is somehow similar. This paper is an attempt to briefly present the supply-side and resource mobilization theories in the study of the sociology of religion and literature on social movements. This paper is a sort of a comparative analysis on the sociology of religion and literature on social movements. It presents a brief literature overview of the supply-side theory, and some examples of studies that have used this model; a brief overview of the resource mobilization theory; and finally, an assessment of the recruitment tactics and commitment levels in both of these fields of sociology.
2008
partnership that is exploring the relationships between several major world religions, development in low-income countries and poverty reduction. The programme is comprised of a series of comparative research projects that are addressing the following questions: How do religious values and beliefs drive the actions and interactions of individuals and faith-based organisations? How do religious values and beliefs and religious organisations influence the relationships between states and societies? In what ways do faith communities interact with development actors and what are the outcomes with respect to the achievement of development goals?
The Unobtrusive Tactics of Religious Movements
Many religious and spiritual movements mobilize to establish sacred fields which influence everyday life in multiple social domains. Because these devout groups operate across many institutional fields, scholars of religiously motivated movements are uniquely poised to contribute to scholarship on multiinstitutional politics and on how institutional change can be initiated and influenced by external cultural movements. In this paper, I bring attention to how religious movements can mobilize through unobtrusive political tactics which build upon extant social structures in multiple institutional fields, rather than through contentious tactics which are the focus of most movement research. Based on prior scholarship on religious movements and my own research, I identify how religious movements can expand through unobtrusive, nonconfrontational tactics such as “discursive politics,” developing a “state within a state,” “burrowing into” targeted organizations, and “assimilating into” mainstream organizations. These mechanisms identified in religious movement scholarship contribute to underdeveloped areas of scholarship at the intersection of social movement mobilization, organizational change, and field development, and provide a platform upon which future research can build.
The Impact of Religious Revivalism on Contemporary Social Movements: A Sociological Analysis
South India Journal of Social Sciences, 2024
This article examines the impact of religious revivalism on contemporary social movements through a sociological lens, focusing on how religious resurgence influences political, social and cultural landscapes. It provides a comprehensive analysis by integrating key sociological theories on religion and social change, including the works of Durkheim, Weber, and Berger. Religious revivalism, characterized by renewed enthusiasm and adherence to traditional religious beliefs and practices, is explored in both historical and modern contexts to understand its multifaceted effects on society. Historical examples of religious revivalism, such as the Great Awakenings in the United States, provide a foundation for understanding the phenomenon's roots and its transformative potential. The article then delves into three contemporary case studies: the rise of Evangelical Christianity and the Religious Right in the United States, Islamic revivalism in the Middle East, and Hindu nationalism in India. Each case study highlights the historical background, key characteristics, and socio-political impacts of these movements. Through a comparative analysis, the article identifies commonalities and divergences among these movements, exploring factors that contribute to their success and societal influence. It also considers the role of globalization and modern communication technologies in facilitating the spread and impact of religious revivalism. The article further investigates the dual nature of religious revivalism, noting its capacity to both foster community building and moral advocacy, while also potentially leading to social polarization and conflict. Critiques of religious revivalism as a conservative force resisting progressive change are addressed alongside counterarguments that emphasize its contributions to social justice and ethical governance. Finally, the article suggests directions for future research, emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and the need to understand the digital age's impact on religious revivalism. By highlighting the complex interplay between religious resurgence and social movements, this analysis underscores the continuing relevance of studying the sociology of religion in a rapidly evolving global context.
Journal of Religion in Europe, 2015
The category of the 'non-religious' has been subject to increasing academic attention in recent years, but questions about the political mobilisation of non-religious actors remain substantially under-researched. This article addresses this issue through a comparative analysis of non-religion in the United States and Britain. Drawing on theoretical insights from Social Movement Theory, it argues that political mobilisation is shaped by varying patterns of conflict between religious and non-religious actors, as well as within and between non-religious groups themselves.