Philip Jenkins
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195146165
- eISBN:
- 9780199834341
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195146166.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter discusses the implications of the very close association between church and state in the global South, which in some sense mirrors the lack of distinction between religion and ordinary ...
More
This chapter discusses the implications of the very close association between church and state in the global South, which in some sense mirrors the lack of distinction between religion and ordinary life in medieval Europe, and contrast with the segregation of religion from everyday life in the West–the separation of church and state. The history of this close association is traced from colonial to the twentieth century, when Third World (Southern) churches came increasingly to be identified with the cause of reform or, frequently, revolution; differences are described in the liberation theologies adopted in the three Southern regions concerned –Latin America, Africa and Asia, where they took very different courses. Most of the rest of the chapter looks at the sorts of problems that are likely to arise in Christian nations where Christian political activism occurs: threats to a nation’s freedom, democracy, and constitution through the imposition of Christian regimes, uncritical support for new regimes supported by churches, violent acts by messianic, and prophetic, or apocalyptic groups; here, Latin America provides an example of many cases where religious change from Catholicism to Protestantism/Pentecostalism has led to instability. Last, the future implications and dangers of the clear hemispheric division between North and South in the role of religion in politics are outlined.Less
This chapter discusses the implications of the very close association between church and state in the global South, which in some sense mirrors the lack of distinction between religion and ordinary life in medieval Europe, and contrast with the segregation of religion from everyday life in the West–the separation of church and state. The history of this close association is traced from colonial to the twentieth century, when Third World (Southern) churches came increasingly to be identified with the cause of reform or, frequently, revolution; differences are described in the liberation theologies adopted in the three Southern regions concerned –Latin America, Africa and Asia, where they took very different courses. Most of the rest of the chapter looks at the sorts of problems that are likely to arise in Christian nations where Christian political activism occurs: threats to a nation’s freedom, democracy, and constitution through the imposition of Christian regimes, uncritical support for new regimes supported by churches, violent acts by messianic, and prophetic, or apocalyptic groups; here, Latin America provides an example of many cases where religious change from Catholicism to Protestantism/Pentecostalism has led to instability. Last, the future implications and dangers of the clear hemispheric division between North and South in the role of religion in politics are outlined.
Méadhbh McIvor
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780691193632
- eISBN:
- 9780691211619
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691193632.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sociology of Religion
Over the past two decades, a growing number of Christians in England have gone to court to enforce their right to religious liberty. Funded by conservative lobby groups and influenced by the legal ...
More
Over the past two decades, a growing number of Christians in England have gone to court to enforce their right to religious liberty. Funded by conservative lobby groups and influenced by the legal strategies of their American peers, these claimants — registrars who conscientiously object to performing the marriages of same-sex couples, say, or employees asking for exceptions to uniform policies that forbid visible crucifixes — highlight the uneasy truce between law and religion in a country that maintains an established Church but is wary of public displays of religious conviction. This book charts the changing place of public Christianity in England through the rise of Christian political activism and litigation. The book explores the ideas and contested reception of this ostensibly American-inspired legal rhetoric. It argues that legal challenges aimed at protecting “Christian values” ultimately jeopardize those values, as moralities woven into the fabric of English national life are filtered from their quotidian context and rebranded as the niche interests of a cultural minority. By framing certain moral practices as specifically Christian, these activists present their religious convictions as something increasingly set apart from broader English culture, thereby hastening the secularization they seek to counter. The book offers a unique look at how Christian politico-legal activism in England simultaneously responds to and constitutes the religious life of a nation.Less
Over the past two decades, a growing number of Christians in England have gone to court to enforce their right to religious liberty. Funded by conservative lobby groups and influenced by the legal strategies of their American peers, these claimants — registrars who conscientiously object to performing the marriages of same-sex couples, say, or employees asking for exceptions to uniform policies that forbid visible crucifixes — highlight the uneasy truce between law and religion in a country that maintains an established Church but is wary of public displays of religious conviction. This book charts the changing place of public Christianity in England through the rise of Christian political activism and litigation. The book explores the ideas and contested reception of this ostensibly American-inspired legal rhetoric. It argues that legal challenges aimed at protecting “Christian values” ultimately jeopardize those values, as moralities woven into the fabric of English national life are filtered from their quotidian context and rebranded as the niche interests of a cultural minority. By framing certain moral practices as specifically Christian, these activists present their religious convictions as something increasingly set apart from broader English culture, thereby hastening the secularization they seek to counter. The book offers a unique look at how Christian politico-legal activism in England simultaneously responds to and constitutes the religious life of a nation.
