Polnat04(3)

POLITICS OF NATIONALISM

4. RELIGION AND
NATIONALISM
4. RELIGION AND NATIONALISM

OUTLINE
Look at relationship between
religion and nationalism:
• Religion as a source of
division
• Religion, society and politics
• Religion and national identity

NATURE OF RELIGION
Definition:
Religion: “a unified system of beliefs and
practices relative to sacred things, that is to
say, things set apart and forbidden—beliefs
and practices which unite into one single
moral community called a Church, all those
who adhere to them” (Durkheim)


NATURE OF RELIGION
Implications of definition:
Religion embodies beliefs and practices (or
rituals):
• Beliefs: ideological component, may have
political implications
(e.g. about matters of public policy)
• Rituals: external expressions of belief,
typically non-political, but may have political
implications
(e.g. public displays, processions)

NATURE OF RELIGION
Differences between religion and language as
source of differentiation:
• Commitment to religion is qualitative, not
categorical
(so partial membership, or non-membership,
is possible)
• Religion does not imply territorial
concentration, or critical mass
(so no intrinsic drive towards assimilation)
• Religion always has social (and possibly
political) implications
(so membership implies political position?)

NATURE OF RELIGION
Examples of religious divisions:
NORTH. IRELAND,
1961 (%)
Catholic
35
Presbyterian 29
Church of I. 24
Other
12

NETHERLANDS,
1970 (%)
Catholic
40
Dutch Reformed 24
Orthodox Ref.
9
Other
3

JAPAN,
1969 (%)
Buddhist
75
Shinto
67
Christian
1
Other
5

Total

Total

Total

100

76


148

NATURE OF RELIGION
World breakdown by religion, 2006
(very crude estimates):
• Christians:

2,156m.

(Catholic 52%;Protestant 38%;Orthodox 10%)
• Muslims:

1,334m.

(Sunni 85%; Shia 15%)
• Hindus:

878m.

• Buddhists:

382m.

• Others, none:

1,713m.


CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGION
Criterion 1: descent:
• Religions of Semitic origin
– Modern Judaism
– Christianity
– Islam
• Religions of South Asian origin
– Modern Hinduism
– Buddhism
– Sikhism

CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGION
Criterion 2: broad orientation:
• Universalistic
– Christianity
– Islam
• Ethnic / particularistic
– Judaism
– Hinduism
– Sikhism
– Shinto

RELIGION AND SOCIETY
Sociopolitical implications of religion
•
•
•
•

Impact on educational system and values
Effect on language development
Ritual and ceremonial aspects
Ideological and policy consequences


Religion and educational development
Inculcation of religious values requires a
minimum level of teaching
Implies existence of at least a rudimentary
educational system (perhaps church-based)
May imply the cultivation of special skills
(e.g. basic literacy)
Certain religions more demanding than
others (e.g. emphasis in Protestantism on
need for everyone to read the Bible)
 Significant consequences for social
development

Religion and language development
Clerical elites (and possibly all church
members) require medium of wider
communication
Ancient language sometimes adopted
(Latin, Old Church Slavonic, Sanskrit,
Hebrew)
Vernacular language sometimes cultivated
(impact of Protestantism on language
development)
 Significant consequences for language
development and wider communication

Religion, ritual and ceremonial
Religions tend to share common rituals
which facilitate cross-cultural
communication
(ceremonies of worship, prayer rituals,
pilgrimages)
 Significant consequences for community
building


Religion and politics
Different religions may have different
implications for public policy:
–Protestant emphasis on sabbatarianism,
prohibition
–Catholic emphasis on sexual morality, family
—
and on Catholic schools and medical services
Raises prospect of conflict with secular state, or
between religions
 Significant consequences for political
mobilisation

RELIGION AND NATIONAL IDENTITY
Formation of national identity
• May be greatly facilitated by social impact of
religion (building of broad community)
• But universalist religions are inclusive
(promote notion of bonds between all
humans)
• Nevertheless, may have implications for
defining narrower patterns of identity
– Impact of “ethnic” religions
– Effect of organisational structures
– Religious labels as ethnonational labels

“Ethnic” religion and national identity
Community is defined as a collectivity unified,
and distinguished from others, by shared beliefs
and rituals
(e.g. Shinto, Judaism)
Religious writings, tracts and ceremonials may
be those of an ethnonational community
(they document history of a people, not just of a
religion; e.g. Old Testament and Israel)
But: ethnic religion may sometimes be divisive
(e.g. tribal / local religions)

Religious organisation and national identity
Church structure may mirror state structure
(and thus reinforce sense of collective identity)
Church structure may follow boundaries that later
become “national” ones
(e.g. church in Ireland)
Schism or doctrinal revolt may follow “national” lines
(e.g. Reformation)
Church reorganisation may follow “national” lines
•Lutheran monarchies, Anglicanism
•Autocephalous Orthodox churches (Balkans)

Religious labelling and national identity
Religious affiliation may be an indicator of
origin, and imply national identity
• Northern Ireland (Catholic Irish, Protestant
British)
• Poland (esp. in the past): Masurians
(Protestant)
• Lithuania (inter-war): Memellanders
(Protestant)
• Bulgaria: Pomaks (Muslim)
Note impact of historical divisions on (1)
religion and (2) identity; beware causation!

RELIGION AND NATIONALISM
RELIGION AND NATIONAL IDENTITY:
EXAMPLE 1: NORTHERN IRELAND, 2004
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Protestant
British

Catholic
Ulster

Other

Northern Irish

Irish


EXAMPLE 2: SRI LANKA, 1981
LANGUAGE:
Sinhala
Tamil

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION:
Buddhist
Hindu

Muslim

Sinhalese (72%)

SL Tamil (11%)

Moors (7%)

Indian Tamil (9%)


EXAMPLE 3: FORMER YUGOSLAVIA, 1991
LANGUAGE:
SerboCroatian

TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION:
Orthodox
Catholic
Muslim
Serbian (36%)

Ethnic
Muslim (10%)

Montenegrin (2%)

Slovene

Slovenian (7%)

Macedonian
Albanian

Croatian (20%)

Macedonian (7%)
Albanian (9%)


RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGION AND “NATION” :
COMPARISON WITH LANGUAGE
1. “Nation” contains several religions
2. Religion contains several “nations”
3. “Nation” and religious community coincide
4. “Nation” is linked to ancestral religion


nation
A

1. “nation”
contains several
religions

Rel. A

Rel. C

Rel. B

Common pattern today
(e.g Germany,
Netherlands);
now unproblematic


Religion
A

2. Religious
community
contains several
“nations”

nation A

nation C

nation B

Very common pattern
(universalist religions);
unproblematic

nation
A

lang. A

3. “nation” and
religious community
coincide

Ethnic religions
(e.g Judaism, Sikhism);
exceptional

nation
A

4. “nation” is
linked to
ancestral religion
Rel. A

Unusual
(component in
Irish identity?);
Sustainability?

THE END …

NEXT: HISTORICAL IMAGES AND NATIONALISM

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