Political Appeal of Religion

Abstract

Much of philosophical reflections about the relations between religion and politics fall within the liberal tradition of religious restraint, which generated both the backlash of a new traditionalism and the critical turn in the study of religion. Moving beyond the real or imagined isomorphism of religion and politics, I show how the political functions of religion are closely connected to the anthropological reflections about culture and politics. The aim is to provide political theory with a new “awareness of what is missing” by revealing the deeply political significance of religion, not merely as an instrument used in political contexts for political purposes but a total political fact, which remain hidden behind the moral discourses of religious advocates, political leaders, and academic scholars.