Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Political science of religion

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The political science of religion (also referred to as politicology of religion or politology of religion) is one of the youngest disciplines in the political sciences that deals with a study of influence that religion has on politics and vice versa with a focus on the relationship between the subjects (actors) in politics in the narrow sense: government, political parties, pressure groups, and religious communities. It was established in the last decades of the twentieth century.

Contents

Research areas

The basic research areas of the political science of religion are:

  • All aspects of religious teachings and practices that have direct political contents and messages, such as religious understanding of government, power, political authority, state, political organizing, war, peace, etc.;
  • All aspects of religious behavior and practice that don’t have direct political contents and messages but do have direct political consequences, such as building of religious edifices, pilgrimages, etc.;
  • Attitudes and positions of political subjects in the narrow sense towards religion and religious communities, such as that of political parties and pressure groups towards religion and religious communities;
  • Everything within apparently completely secular public behavior with no religious motives that causes religious consequences, such as an economic monopoly achieved by a religious group within a multi-confessional society – it cannot but cause political consequences.

    • These fields of research are in constant development. The newest area of research in political science of religion is on the subject of religion and international relations.

    History

    The political science of religion or politology of religion was established as an academic discipline in 1993 at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Belgrade, Serbia. The founder of this discipline is Dr Miroljub Jevtic; http://www.fpn.bg.ac.rs/en/undergraduate-studies/political-department/third-year/ . In 2006, Georgetown University established the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs as one of the first American university research centers devoted to issues surrounding the political science of religion.

    The Politics and Religion Journal was founded by the Center for Study of Religion and Religious Tolerance in Belgrade, Serbia in 2007. Its spiritus movens and editor in chief is Miroljub Jevtić, professor at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, Serbia. The journal Politics and Religion, produced by Cambridge Journals, published its first volume in 2008.

    The political science of religion is studied at almost all universities and political science departments in the United States. The American Political Science Association has a religion and politics section.

    References

    Political science of religion Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA