Polnat04(3)

POLITICS OF NATIONALISM4. RELIGION AND NATIONALISM

POLITICS OF 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 RELIGIONDifferences 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 35Presbyterian 29Church of I. 24Other 12

NETHERLANDS, 1970 (%)

Catholic 40Dutch Reformed 24Orthodox Ref. 9Other 3

JAPAN, 1969 (%)

Buddhist 75Shinto 67Christian 1Other 5

Total 100 Total 76 Total 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 SOCIETYReligion and educational development

Inculcation of religious values requires a minimum level of teachingImplies 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 SOCIETYReligion and language development

Clerical elites (and possibly all church members) require medium of wider communicationAncient 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 AND SOCIETYReligion, 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 SOCIETYReligion 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 servicesRaises 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 identityCommunity 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)


RELIGION AND NATIONAL IDENTITYReligious 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 identityReligious 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 NATIONALISMRELIGION AND NATIONAL IDENTITY:

EXAMPLE 1: NORTHERN IRELAND, 2004

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Protestant Catholic

British Ulster Other Northern Irish Irish


RELIGION AND NATIONALISM

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION:Buddhist Hindu Muslim

RELIGION AND NATIONAL IDENTITY:EXAMPLE 2: SRI LANKA, 1981

LANGUAGE:

Sinhala

Tamil

Sinhalese (72%)

SL Tamil (11%)

Indian Tamil (9%)Moors (7%)



TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION:Orthodox Catholic Muslim

RELIGION AND NATIONAL IDENTITY:EXAMPLE 3: FORMER YUGOSLAVIA, 1991

LANGUAGE:

Serbo-Croatian

Slovene

Macedonian

Albanian

Serbian (36%) Croatian (20%)Ethnic

Muslim (10%)

Slovenian (7%)

Montenegrin (2%)

Macedonian (7%)

Albanian (9%)



1. “Nation” contains several religions

2. Religion contains several “nations”

3. “Nation” and religious community coincide

4. “Nation” is linked to ancestral religion

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGION AND “NATION” : COMPARISON WITH LANGUAGE


nationA

Rel. A

Rel. B

Rel. C


1. “nation” contains several

religions

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

now unproblematic


ReligionA

nation A

nation B

nation C


2. Religious community

contains several “nations”

Very common pattern (universalist religions);

unproblematic


nationA

lang. A


3. “nation” and religious community

coincide

Ethnic religions(e.g Judaism, Sikhism);

exceptional


nationA


4. “nation” is linked to ancestral religion

Rel. A

Unusual(component in Irish identity?);Sustainability?


THE END …

NEXT: HISTORICAL IMAGES AND NATIONALISM

Polnat04(3)

Spiritual

Transcript of Polnat04(3)