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While the Nordic countries have a history of many similarities in core values and institutional arrangements, a number of differences have developed in recent years in relation to religion, due to political reasons. In this article, findings from four empirical studies on religion in Nordic parliamentary politics are analysed in terms of weak or strong politicisation for the purpose of homogeneity or in diversity. From an analytical model, different patterns of the use of religion in politics in the five countries are identified, due to the relationships between church and state, the level of religious diversity and the presence of right-wing populist parties. The conclusion is that religion once again has become a means to societal cohesion in Denmark, but also to some degree in Norway and Sweden in a search for a core authority in society. The main reason behind this change is the impact of globalisation.

Essential primary sources reveal the central tensions between American politics and religion throughout the nation's history. Despite the centrality of separation of church and state in American government, religion has played an important role in the nation's politics from colonial times through the present day. This essential anthology provides a fascinating history of religion in American politics and public life through a wide range of primary documents. It explores contentious debates over freedom, tolerance, and justice, in matters ranging from slavery to the nineteenth-century controversy over Mormon polygamy to the recent discussions concerning same-sex marriage and terrorism.

AbstractReligious movements have long been challenging the modernist and secularist ideas around the world. Within the last decade or so, pro-religious parties made significant electoral advances in various countries, including India, Sudan, Algeria, and the Palestinian territories. In this article, we focus on the rise of the pro-religious Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi- AKP) to power in the 2002 elections in Turkey. Using the Turkish experience with political Islam, we evaluate the explanatory value of Mark Juergensmeyer's rise of religious nationalism theory, with a special emphasis on the "failed secularism" argument. Our analysis indicates that the theoretical approach formulated by Juergensmeyer has a great deal of explanatory power; however, it does not provide a complete explanation for the success of the AKP. The rise of religion in Turkish politics is the result of a complex process over long years of encounter and confrontation between two frameworks of order, starting with the sudden imposition of secularism from above, when the republic was established. Hence, to understand the rise of religion in contemporary Turkish politics, an in-depth understanding of history, politics, and the sources of tension between secularists and Islamists is essential. The findings of this article have important implications for other countries, especially those that are experiencing a resurgence of religion in politics, and are struggling to integrate religious parties into a democratic system.

Throughout the first decades of the 19th century, an increasing presence of the press as a media of political struggle took place in the territories of the former Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. Along the decade of 1820, the controversial views around the ecclesiastical reform in the province of Buenos Aires used the press as its main media of expression and that was the reason why the arguments stretched beyond the provincial boundaries. This paper approaches that debate in order to analyze the origins of a public space, as well as its possibilities and limitations in relationship to the political strategies used by the antagonists aimed at articulate politics and religion in the transition from the religious unanimity sustained by the Catholic Monarchy to the origins of the Republic. ; En las primeras décadas del siglo XIX la prensa, que surge tardíamente en el Virreinato del Río de la Plata, crece como instrumento de la lucha política. El debate desatado a comienzos de los años veinte en torno la aplicación de una reforma eclesiástica en la provincia de Buenos Aires se da en gran medida a través de los periódicos e impacta mucho más allá de los limites provinciales. La forma y el momento del mencionado debate son abordados en este trabajo para analizar tanto las características que asume el naciente espacio público, sus alcances y límites en función de las estrategias desplegadas por los contendientes como el modo en que se articulan política y religión en la etapa de transición entre la vigencia del régimen de unanimidad religiosa garantizado por la monarquía católica y el surgimiento de la nueva república.

The controversy over mixing religion and politics has not kept religion apart from government. Religious groups participate in a wide variety of political activities. But religious groups in the United States are not organized as political parties or political machines. There is a relation between religious affiliation and party affiliation. The correlation, however, does not usually indicate a "religious" vote. In part, the relation reflects socio-economic status. For Catholics and Jews it is very much a result of awareness of minority status. As minority awareness declines, trends in voting change. There is no pattern of voting for or against candidates because of their religion. The importance of religion in a presidential election cannot be assessed on the basis of other elections. The election of a Catholic president would not change the nature of our government, but it would have an effect on American politics.

Political science is In same time old and young science. Old, if we have in mind politics as subject of research, and young if we think about institutions in which politics is only subject of research or education. Having in mind religion as subject of political science,s research, we can easily conclude that all books in early history of mankind, which were dedicated to political topics, had for the first subject religion. That is clear if we remember that firsts form of politicals organisations in old Babylon, Egypt and Israel... were inseparable connected with gods. Gods gave legitimacy to those states. But so political sciences institutions in generally so Politology of religion, or politologie des religions in French, was born late. The firsts subjects of research in politicals sciences institutions were: state, political regimes, political parties, theory of politics, political systems, etc. Religion was studied very rarely. Modern political science was born under influence of french intellectuals: Dederot, Rousseau, Voltaire etc. They considered that religion will disappear with education and development. Their compatriot Alexis de Tocqueville thought contrary to their prognosis. The time gave right to Tocqueville. In the second part of XX century when the world develompent was highest, religion maintained its position in big part of globe and became stronger in a lot of states. That created big challenge for political science. Many of politicals scientis started with research concerning influence of religion into politics. That create, as the first step, centers for research of relations among religion and politics as is "labaratoire RELIGION ET POLITIQUE at "Institute d'etudes politiques" in Paris or "L'Observatoire du Religieux" at "Institut d'etudes politique" in Aix en provence en France, and finally that created special scientific discipline among political sciencies which name is "Politology of religion" or "Politologie des religions" in french.

Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Series Preface -- Introduction -- PART I RELIGION AND REGIME -- 1 Religion and Politics in Comparative and Historical Perspective -- 2 The Iranian Revolution in Comparative Perspective -- 3 Rendering unto Caesar? Religious Competition and Catholic Political Strategy in Latin America, 1962-79 -- 4 Warring Gods? Theological Tales -- 5 Buddhaputra and Bhumiputra? Dilemmas of Modern Sinhala Buddhist Monks in Relation to Ethnic and Political Conflict -- 6 The War in Former Yugoslavia and Religion -- 7 Democracy and Religious Politics: Evidence from Belgium -- PART II THE POLITICS OF CHURCH-STATE RELATIONS -- 8 Religious Capital and Capital Religions: Cross-Cultural and Non-Legal Factors in the Separation of Church and State -- 9 Secularism and the State: Towards Clarity and Global Comparison -- 10 The New Religious State -- 11 The Politics of Ideology: The Papal Struggle with Liberalism -- 12 Jewish Messianism, Religious Zionism and Israeli Politics: The Impact and Origins of Gush Emunim -- 13 The Evolving Regulatory Structure of European Church-State Relationships -- 14 Church and State in Spain from the Civil War to the Return of Democracy -- PART III RELIGION AND ELECTORAL POLITICS -- 15 Regional and Religious Support of Political Parties and Effects on their Issue Positions -- 16 Religious vs. Linguistic vs. Class Voting: The "Crucial Experiment" of Comparing Belgium, Canada, South Africa, and Switzerland -- 17 Politics and the Pulpit: The Case of Protestant Europe -- 18 In From the Cold? Christian Parties in Scandinavia -- 19 Modernity and Fundamentalism: The New Christian Right in America -- 20 Cultural Conflict in American Politics: Religious Traditionalism, Postmaterialism, and U.S. Political Behavior -- 21 Religion and Politics in Postcommunist Russia.