This comprehensive volume examines the nature, causes, and consequences of state religion policy in 183 countries between 1990 and 2014. Each contribution uses round 3 of the Religion and State dataset which includes information on 117 distinct state religion policies. Secular and religious forces in society and government compete in order to influence state religion policy in a vibrant religious economy. While governments are more involved in religion in 2014 than they were in 1990, most states both added and dropped religion policies during this period. This is important because these policies impact on a number of important political, social, and economic phenomena.
In this collection the authors examine the impact of state religion policies on interstate militarized disputes, violent domestic conflict, terrorism, and voting for political parties. They also examine some of the factors that influence state religion policy, including the attitudes of citizens toward religion and religious minorities, free and open elections, and having an independent judiciary.
This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Religion, State & Society.
1. The correlates of religion and state: an introduction 2. A world survey of secular-religious competition: state religious policy from 1990 to 2014 3. Religious discrimination and religious armed conflict in sub-Saharan Africa: an obvious relationship? 4. Religion and state entanglement and interstate armed conflict initiation, 1990–2010 5. Government interference in religious institutions and terrorism 6. Feed the Church, starve the party? Church-state relations and religious political mobilisation in 21 Catholic-majority countries 7. Religion–state relations and public opinion: norms, institutions and social consensus 8. Compliance gaps and the failed promises of religious freedoms 9. Religion and right-wing populism in Italy: using ‘Judeo-Christian roots’ to kill the European Union
Biography
Jonathan Fox is the Director of the Religion and State project (www.religionandstate.org) and The Yehuda Avner Professor of Religion and Politics at Bar Ilan University, Israel. He has published extensively on religion and politics. His recent books include An Introduction to Religion and Politics: Theory and Practice (2nd edition, 2018).
