Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics

From the United States to the Middle East, Asia and Africa, religion has become an increasingly important factor in political activity and organisation. This Handbook provides a definitive global survey of the interaction of religion and politics.

Featuring contributions from an international team of experts, it examines the political aspects of all the world's major religions, including such crucial contemporary issues as religious fundamentalism, terrorism, the war on terror, the 'clash of civilizations' and science and religion.

Four main themes addressed include:


the World religions and politics
religion and governance
religion and international relations
religion, security and development.


References at the end of each chapter guide the reader towards the most up-to-date information on various topics. In addition, large amounts of information make this book an indispensable source of information for students, academics and the wider public interested in the dynamic relationship between politics and religion.

Jeffrey Haynes is Professor of Politics at London Metropolitan University, UK. He is the author of 17 previous books and over 100 journal articles and chapters in edited volumes.

1. Introduction Jeffrey Haynes Part 1: ‘The World Religions and Politics’ 2. Buddhism and Politics Peter Friedlander 3. Christianity: Protestantism Paul Freston 4. The Catholic Church and Catholicism in global politics Allen Hertzke 5. Confucianism, from above and below Michael Barr 6. Hinduism James Chiriyankandath 7. Sunni Islam and politics Andrea Teti and Andrea Mura 8. Shiism and politics Mohammad Nafissi 9. Judaism and the state Shmuel Sandler Part 2: ‘Religion and Governance’ 10. Secularisation and Politics Steve Bruce 11. Religious fundamentalisms Jeffrey Haynes 12. Religion and the State John Madeley 13. Does God Matter, and If So whose God? Religion and Democratization John Anderson 14. Religion and political parties Clyde Wilcox and Payam Mohseni 15. Religion and civil society David Herbert 16. Religious commitment and socio-political orientations: Different patterns of compartmentalisation among Muslims and Christians? Thorleif Pettersson Part 3: ‘Religion and International Relations’ 17. Integrating Religion into International Relations Theory Jonathan Fox 18. Religion and Foreign Policy Jeffrey Haynes 19. Transnational Religious Actors and International Relations Giorgio Shani 20. Religion and globalisation David Wessels Part 4: ‘Religion, Security and Development’ 21. On the Nature of Religious Terrorism Rohan Gunaratna and Adam Dolnik 22. Conflict prevention and peacebuilding Atsuhiro Katano 23. Religion and Women: Canadian Women’s Religious Volunteering: Compassion, Connections, and Comparisons Brenda O’Neill 24. Faith-based development aid Gerard Clarke 25. Religion, climate change and human suffering Noah Tully