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Religion is a sometimes neglected factor in international relations. Awareness of the influence of religion and other aspects of culture on foreign policy assists students of international relations in their efforts to understand international politics. Like everyone else, students of international relations draw on their own values and religious beliefs in responding to policy questions. With the exception of the "Postscript", this article was written prior to September 11, 2001, but these events may reinforce the article's argument that religious factors deserve attention from students of foreign policy.

An exploration of religion & politics in Central Asia notes that neither Islam nor liberal democracy has filled the ideological vacuum left by the collapse of communism. Instead, the rapid growth of Islam has been accompanied by the formation of political systems described as "secular authoritarianisms." It is argued that the Taliban's seizure of power in Afghanistan had a significant impact on the political dynamics in Central Asia. The threat of Islamic extremism has led to a strengthening of authoritarian tendencies & a lessening of democratic freedoms. The seriousness of the threat is evaluated in relation to each state's historical experiences, internal conditions, regional rivalries/disputes, & international interests. It is concluded that the legacy of the Russo-Afghan conflict has hindered post-independence nation-building; the intensification of regional rivalries has worsened internal development while created an unpredictable external environment; Islam's cultural/political growth has stifled democratic trends; radicalization has increased authoritarianism; & the pursuit of their own interests on the part of international forces has enhanced the growth of Islamic radicalism. J. Lindroth

AbstractAmericans' perceptions of science are structured by overlapping cultural fields of politics and religion, and those cultural fields vary over time in how they influence opinion about science. This paper provides a historical narrative for understanding how religious and political factors influence public perceptions of science over the last four decades. Using data from the 1974–2012 General Social Survey, the impact of religious and political factors are examined and compared across decades using heterogeneous ordinal logistic regression models and ordinal structural equation models. Estimates show that the impact of sectarian Protestant identification and fundamentalist beliefs in the Bible are increasingly linked to lower levels of confidence in science, and that these religious factors also influence the impact of political conservatism and Republican Party identification. Political conservatism has become more oppositional towards science, and Republicans have become less enthusiastic compared to periods when science was primarily linked to militaristic endeavors.

Examines the place of religion in public policymaking; Catholic, Episcopal, mainline Protestant, evangelical, and secularist perspectives; US; 6 articles. Mainstream Protestantism, "conservative" religion, and civil society, Catholic Charities USA and welfare reform, charitable choice, public education, and faith.