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The themes of religion and politics and their relation in human societies have been a major subject for Cardinal Bernardin. He discussed them widely as a bishop and as a citizen, in the Conference of American Bishops, at universities – where he delivered speeches – among the believers of his archdiocese. As people of faith and citizens of all countries, we find that his questions are our questions too, his analysis is worth reading and studying. Does a separation of Church and State – as it can be seen in our Western culture – offer better ground to carry on two‐level policies, or is it better to have them both administered by a same body, as it happens in Muslim countries? In which ways can church and state cooperate and help each other? What is the role that we have to perform as Christians when called to give our contribution in the political life? This and much more finds extensive explanation in Bernardin's approach.

Jean-Marie Mayeur, La question laïque (XIXe–XXe siècle) (Paris: Fayard, 1997), 239 pp., 95 FF. IBSN 2–213–60013–9.Etienne Fouilloux, Les chrétiens français entre crise et libération (1937–1947) (Paris: Seuil, 1997), 293 pp, 130 FF. ISBN 2–020–28131–7.Stathis N. Kalyvas, The Rise of Christian Democracy in Europe (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1996), 300 pp., £15.95. ISBN 0–8014–8320–4.Emiel Lamberts, ed., Christian Democracy in the European Union (1945–1995) (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 1997), 511 pp. ISBN 9–061–86808–4.'Christians and political life' (taking the latter term in its widest sense) is a theme which continues to attract a great deal of interest among contemporary historians, in terms of both detailed research and broader surveys. René Rémond and Aline Coutrot demonstrated the interconnectedness of the two domains of religion and politics when they abandoned the restricted subject of relations between states and the Roman Catholic church and initiated the study of religion as an integral part of history, and the social sciences, as a whole. Approaches since 1966 have been greatly modified, as shown by the treatment of the material in the four works now to be reviewed.

Draws on a variety of survey data to examine 30 years of the religion-politics relationship. Highlighted are trends in the church-state relationship, church & religious figure involvement, the 1980s-1990s conservative Christian movement (eg, Christian Coalition & Moral Majority), rights & religious tolerance, & prayer & the Bible in public schools. 1 Appendix, 13 References. J. Lindroth

Explains the secular nature of the Indian polity within a religious society, and analyses religious politics with particular reference to the Bharatiya Janata party and Hindu nationalism. Some focus on Hindu-Muslim relations.

Mit der politischen Liberalisierung in Tansania hat die Frage nach dem Verhältnis von Religion und Politik im Land beträchtlich an Aktualität gewonnen. Die Autoren der 3 Beiträge befassen sich mit unterschiedlichen Aspekten dieses Themas. J. V. Mwapacho schildert den jüngsten Vorstoß der christlichen Kirchen, die mit deutlicher Kritik an der sozioökonomischen Entwicklung Tansanias und der Haltung von Staat und Regierungspartei an die Öffentlichkeit getreten sind. Der Autor beschreibt die offizielle Reaktion der Regierung darauf, fragt nach Grenzen zwischen Religion und Politik und schildert die Rolle der Kirchen in Tansania während der Regierungszeit von J. Nyerere. J. Sivalon diskutiert das Verhältnis zwischen Religion und Politik zunächst anhand verschiedener theoretischer Modelle und erläutert dann die Praxis der tansanischen Regierung, die die Religionsgemeinschaften und religiösen Organisationen lange Zeit wirkungsvoll kontrollieren konnte. M. Said setzt sich in seinem Beitrag mit dem Einfluß der beiden großen Religionsgemeinschaften der Moslems und Christen in Staat und Gesellschaft auseinander. Er zeigt auf, wie stark die moslemische Bevölkerung in Staat, Verwaltung und an den Hochschulen unterrepräsentiert ist, während die christlichen Kirchen ihren Einfluß geschickt auszubauen verstanden. Seit der politischen Liberalisierung fürchtet die christliche Bevölkerung um ihre privilegierte Stellung. (DÜI-Ply)