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AbstractIn recent years, the welfare state literature has been witnessing a "religious turn," (re)reminding us the pivotal role of religion in shaping the modern welfare state. Notwithstanding its theoretical importance, this turn has been largely confined to European, North American, and antipodean settings. By drawing upon the historical case of Israeli burial services, this study seeks to make a modest step in closing this theoretical and empirical gap. Specifically, its findings point to the historical role of the Judaism in establishing universal burial services, funded by the state and operated almost exclusively by religious burial societies. Moreover, this policy legacy, which already had its roots in the British Mandate rule, is still at work, even in an era of "permanent austerity." These findings problematize mainstream historical observations, which view the Israeli welfare state as a secular project, by suggesting a more nuanced and progressive role for Judaism in its history.

The delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention blocked the establishment of Christianity as a national religion. But they could not keep religion out of American politics. From the election of 1800, when Federalist clergymen charged that deist Thomas Jefferson was unfit to lead a "Christian nation," to today, when some Democrats want to embrace the so-called Religious Left in order to compete with the Republicans and the Religious Right, religion has always been part of American politics. In Religion in American Politics, Frank Lambert tells the fascinating story of the uneasy relations between religion and politics from the founding to the twenty-first century. Lambert examines how antebellum Protestant unity was challenged by sectionalism as both North and South invoked religious justification; how Andrew Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth" competed with the anticapitalist "Social Gospel" during postwar industrialization; how the civil rights movement was perhaps the most effective religious intervention in politics in American history; and how the alliance between the Republican Party and the Religious Right has, in many ways, realized the founders' fears of religious-political electoral coalitions. In these and other cases, Lambert shows that religion became sectarian and partisan whenever it entered the political fray, and that religious agendas have always mixed with nonreligious ones. Religion in American Politics brings rare historical perspective and insight to a subject that was just as important--and controversial--in 1776 as it is today.

Chapter 1. Introduction -- Part I: Basic Research -- Chapter 2. Values: A Contested Concept. Problem Outline and Interdisciplinary Approaches -- Chapter 3. A Critical History of the Use of 'European Values' -- Chapter 4. Transformations in the Religious and Moral Landscape in Europe? -- Part II: In-Depth Analysis -- Chapter 5. Political Values and Religion: A Comparison Between Western and Eastern Europe -- Chapter 6. Religion, Values and Politics: The Effect of Religiosity on Attitudes towards Immigrants and Muslims -- Chapter 7. Solidarity: A European Value? -- Chapter 8. The Invisibles: Religious and Political Values Among Different Social Classes -- Part III : Interdisciplinary Perspectives -- Chapter 9. Ethical and Theological Approaches to the Value Discourses in Europe -- Chapter 10. Values and Economy: How Companies Deal With Values -- Chapter 11. Values and Laws -- Part IV: Future Prospects -- Chapter 12. Perceptions of Social Challenges in Europe. Disentangling the Effects of Context, Social Structure, Religion, Values and Political Attitudes to Identify Potential Drivers of Societal Change -- Chapter 13. Values Education, Politics and Religion -- Chapter 14. Conclusions, Consequences, Challenges.

Religion in the Late Republic was fused to politics. This study considers the relationship between violence, religion, and politics in the Late Republic and Augustan Age. It contends that Roman religion could encourage or discourage violence based upon the circumstances. The strain of Roman expansion on its political and religious institutions contributed to the civil discord that characterized the Late Republic, which created circumstances that were flexible enough for perspectives on each side to see the violence as justified. The ambition of a tribune, a sacrosanct office, could lead to circumvention of the traditional practices of the Senate, causing a religious dilemma if violence was used as a response. Powerful politicians also used religion to legitimize their abuses or obstruct the political aims of their opponents, leading to a contentious atmosphere fraught with violence. The influence of Greek philosophy on religion and morality was of concern for many Romans themselves. These concerns were not laid to rest until the Augustan Age had reshaped Rome's political and religious institutions, which was accompanied by an outpouring of literature embedded with religious symbolism. ; 2018-12-01 ; M.A. ; Arts and Humanities, History ; Masters ; This record was generated from author submitted information.

Previous research has established that the concept of difference is critical in national identity formation. This paper applies these broad understandings of identity formation to current immigration trends in Europe by looking at the relationship between immigration, nationalism, and religiosity in the European context. If theories about religious difference are accurate, then states with large and increasing numbers of Muslim immigrants should show stronger and increasing measures of religious (Christian) nationalism as Europeans fall back on religion as a key tool in self-identification. This hypothesis is tested by using OLS regression and Logit to calculate the strength of the relationship between religion and nationalism in central and western European states using data drawn from World Values and European Values Surveys. Additional controls, including age, sex, education, income, and political orientation are also included. The resulting measure of religious nationalism is then examined in relationship to immigration trends across the continent. The findings show an increased, albeit complicated, link between religion and nationalism in countries with higher levels of non-EU immigration, and therefore partially support the hypothesis. The findings also show that increased religious diversity undermines religious nationalism over time, therefore painting a mixed picture for the future of identity politics in Europe.

Recent literature in the religion and politics area has focused on the effect of various measures of religious affiliation on the political behavior of the mass public. Here we add to the evolving literature examining the influence of religious orientation on political elite behavior, focusing on the U.S. House of Representatives. Method. We use data on the religious affiliations of U.S. House members and National Journal scores of foreign policy voting to test the influence of religion on foreign policy ideology from 1998-2003. Our findings indicate that even after controlling for traditional political factors, religious identity influenced foreign policy voting in the House. African-American Protestants, Latter-day Saints (Mormons), and Evangelical Protestants present the most distinctive patterns. Conclusions. From this analysis we see further indications that religion influences legislative behavior in a way that, although intertwined with political partisanship, appears distinct from traditional political factors.

At the beginning we'll emphasize doubtless fact that religion and nation are two powerful forms of identifi cation. These are strong mechanisms through which each person seeks for its identity. Great numbers of sociological examinations, which refer to this subject, indicate an interesting data. Believe it or not, they show that religion and nation do not have logical connection. Additionally, here is the fact that religion is national and universal category. But, besides these strong facts, these social phenomena are in an unbreakable psychological connection and secret union! Only in such cases, certain identifi cation of nation and religion that is diffi cult to understand appears. That's not the case in the rest of "peaceful" times. In this direction, it's interesting to search for answer on the question: Whether Macedonian Orthodox Church and Islamic Religious Community calm down or sharpen ethnic confl icts and problems.