Religion and Global Politics

Paul S. Rowe

Interdisciplinary perspective: The only book that intentionally caters to undergraduate students in religious studies, political science, sociology, and international relations.
Unique foundation: The only text of its kind, Religion and Global Politics suggests the potency and enduring nature of religion in global politics by asking students to consider religion as a serious motivator of political desire.
Balanced perspective: The text encourages students to think critically about the subject and form their own world views.
Practical context: Case studies bring issues to life, helping undergraduate students contextualize theories with examples from real situations.
Thought-provoking treatment: The text encourages students to engage with the theories and concepts surrounding religion and politics and to think about the permanency of the role religion plays in politics, even in secular states.

Religion and Global Politics

Paul S. Rowe

Description

Specifically designed for third- and fourth-year students, Religion and Global Politics examines the relationship between religion and world order. Part I consists of carefully selected case studies that introduce students to the empirical and theoretical questions underpinning religion and politics in the United States, Europe, India, East Asia, and Latin America at both the domestic and the international level. Offering a balanced and objective perspective, Part I examines a variety of faith perspectives including Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam. Part II uses essential concepts to explore the role that religion plays in the construction of global order and the way religious groups affect the political process in contemporary societies with respect to issues of human rights, war and peace, conflict resolution, and globalization. Context is provided for students in the form of an introduction (Chapter 1) that lays out the history of religion in global politics, as well as the theories that unite and divide political scientists. In addition, a clear conclusion encourages students to apply what they have learned by discussing the future of religion in global politics. The only text of its kind, Religion and Global Politics suggests the potency and enduring nature of religion in global politics and asks students to consider religion as a serious motivator of political desire.

The text includes effective pedagogical tools, such as bolded key terms, chapter-review questions, boxed inserts, chapter conclusions, additional sources, web resources, and a glossary to assist students in engaging with and retaining material.

Religion and Global Politics

Paul S. Rowe

Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
1:Introduction and General Theoretical Overview
A New Beginning?
Religion in the Pre-modern International System
The Post-Westphalian System and the Secularization of International Politics
Modernization and Secularization
Critiques of Secularization
Perspectives on the Politics of Ethnicity and Religion
Taking Culture Seriously
Reactions to Globalization
11 September and After
Understanding Religion: Definitions and Directions
Religion and Global Politics: A Survey
Part I: Religion and the Domestic Bases of State and Foreign Policy
2:The Vatican, Roman Catholicism, and Liberation
A Brief History of the Roman Catholic Church
The Church and the Vatican Today
Liberation Theology: Origins
Responses to Liberation Theology
New Challenges, Change and Continuity
Conclusions
3:Christianity and US Foreign Policy
The 'City upon a Hill': Competing Religious Themes in US Foreign Policy
Religion in American Public Life: A Historic Perspective
The Twentieth Century and 'Social Christianity'
Christianity and the US 'Mission' in World Affairs: The Cold War
Streams of Christian Activism
The Rise of the 'Religious Right'
'Onward Christian Soldiers?'
Seeds of a Middle Way
Other Religious Voices in US Politics
Conclusions
4:Judaism, Zionism, and Israeli Foreign Policy
A Brief History of Zionism
Dimensions of Zionism to 1948
Political and Ethnic Divisions of Religious Zionism in the State of Israel
The Settler Movement and the Rise of Israeli Revisionism
The Rise of Shas
Religious Parties and Coalition Politics
The Wider Coalition: Christian Zionism
Conclusions
5:Political Islam and the State
Introduction to Islam
The Fusion of Islam and Politics: A Contentious Debate
The Medieval and Colonial Age
Salafism: The Modern Rebirth of Islamic Activism
Revolutions and Revivalism: Islamism to the 1980s
The Crucible of Radicalization: Jihadis, bin Laden, and Militant Jihad
Islamism Today: Democrats and Demagogues
The Sunni-Shi'i Divide
Conclusions
6:Religion and Politics in India
What Is Hinduism?
Hinduism, Islam, and Indian Independence
The Rise of Hindu Nationalism
The Crisis of Secularism and Hindu Nationalism in the 1980s
The Ayodhya Incident and the Rise of BJP
Hindutva, Foreign Policy, and the Issue of Kashmir
Flashpoints and Pressures: The Continuing Problem of Interreligious Relations
Conclusions
7:Buddhism and Politics
Buddhism's Rise and Eclipse in India
The Basic Tenets and Vehicles of Buddhism
Sri Lanka: Buddhism Betrayed?
Buddhism in East and Southeast Asia: Protest and Peace
Tibetan Nationalism: Unattainable Nirvana?
Conclusions
Part II: Religion and Global Order
8:Religion, Democracy, and Human Rights
Religion and the Expansion of Liberal Democracy
Human Rights and the Limitation of Religion
Religions, Human Rights, and Democracy
Religion in International Human Rights
Religion and Human Rights in Practice
Religious Freedom and the Politics of Human Rights
Conclusions
9:Religion and War
'Religious' Wars of the Past
Religion and War in the Modern World
The Just War Tradition
The Tradition of War in Islam
Himsa and Ahimsa Traditions in Hinduism and Buddhism
Religion and Terrorism
Conclusions
10:Religion and Conflict Resolution
Religious Resources for Conflict Resolution
Religious Activism in Support of Conflict Resolution
Religion as Interested Observer
Religion as Peacemaker
Religion as Protagonist
Religion as Peace
Conclusions
11:Transnational Religion, Globalization, and Development
Religion and Globalization
The Influence of Transnational Organization: Global Religious Networks
Religion, the Media, and the Global Political Sphere
Migration, Religion, and Integration
Religion and Development
A Divided World? Notions of Division Based on Religion and Civilization
Conclusions
Conclusion - Religion in a Secular Age?
The Rise and Decline of the Secular State
A Secular Age?
Hostility or Hospitality?
Glossary
Index

Religion and Global Politics

Paul S. Rowe

Author Information

Paul S. Rowe

Paul S. Rowe is associate professor of political and international studies and senior research fellow in the Religion, Culture, and Conflict Research Group based at Trinity Western University, Langley, BC, Canada. He completed his undergraduate study at the University of Toronto, where he studied international relations and the history and literatures of the ancient Near East. He later completed a master of arts in political science at Dalhousie University, writing primarily on the political economy and related security issues of the Middle East. He earned his PhD at McGill University in 2003, where his dissertation focused upon the politics of Christian minority communities in Middle Eastern states. He has spent extended time in the Middle East and South Asia and continues to study the politics of religious groups in developing countries and at the global level.