Religion and Its Effect on Political Behaviour
World Studies + Religion
To what extent do leaders gain authority by implementing religious viewpoints into their
politics during a secular era?
Word Count: 3372 words
1
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1
Introduction
2
ISIS
5
Religious Unity
5
Preparations for the future
8
Religious Commitment
10
Pope
Conclusion
13
Bibliography
15
2
What component of religion is so alluring to an abundance of the global
population? While there is no evident response eclipsing the rest, one major reason
would be how everyone seeks comfort within religions and the social dependency upon
the religious community. Most religion tends to soothe people from their times of
distress, uniting them under the idea of holiness.1 This reasoning allows for humans to
find meaning within their existence, resulting in hope for future life, along with the
religious society. This is the essence of how religious leaders demonstrate their value in
the world, by their ability to group and give the people new hope in life.
On the other hand, this reasoning has become the impetus for believers to be
disregarding their crimes, which is still considered religious devotion for the deity above.
Even as they realize those experiences are against their moralities, they are unable to
resist following new community, as they fear repercussions of parting with the
community, and they feel reclusive once they leave the group. Therefore, people
attempt to hear only what they desire to listen to.
In an experiment executed by Scott Murphy, he inquired about very
uncomfortable actions, such as incest. Even with his rational explanations on how such
actions can be justified, people were unable to accept it as a fact, even with no logical
reasoning to support their opinion.2 This is resulting from our brains working on habitual
repetition. As some facts are repeatedly ground into our brains, our minds then accept
that fact as the universal truth, and the longer the duration that fact is told, the harder it
is to reject that “truth”.3
1
Haidt, Jonathan. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion. Penguin Books, 2013.
Ibid
3
Ibid
2
3
As people prefer to hear what they desire to hear, silence and debunking are
abetted by selective listening and forgetting.4 It is not the truth they desire, but rather the
conjectures they believe to be valid. In America, liberalism, an idea of how no opinion
should be restricted unless evident harm is produced, which is the prime opinion.
However, along with the progression of time, the values that were once considered the
basis of society were replaced. As new ones keep being created, old values, such as
religion, needed to be silenced, to respect the newer values.5 This was a way to stop
religious feud from entering political statements, but the moralities of many were also
denied, as they contained religious opinions within. John Rawls proclaimed that humans
should be focusing on more generally accessible terms, culling out obsolete religious
doctrines, as the public is not motivated by such values anymore.6
Then what type of force is a religion within society? From the Milgram
experiment, it has been demonstrated how hazardous such religious implementations
into the area of politics can become. For people to go into the agentic state, that is, the
allowance of others to control their actions entirely, the leader they follow must be
considered a legitimate leader, one who can face the consequences for
them.7 Religious leaders or the deity above becomes a perfect example of a great
leader who can protect them from the consequences of their actions.
However, since religion is welcomed less and less, the remaining religious
leaders can accumulate more authority than ever before from the religious. This results
Goodman, Len E. “Listening and Hearing.” Society, vol. 54, no. 2, 2017, pp. 163–170.,
DOI:10.1007/s12115-017-0117-x.
4
5
6
7
Ibid
Ibid
McLeod, S. A. (2017, February 05). The Milgram shock experiment. Simply Psychology.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html
4
in the leaders’ influence upon society to increase drastically, causing changes beneficial
to that religious group. However, the might that they receive along with the integration of
religion and politics could become highly dangerous for others, as the religious
community could attempt to accumulate more might to change laws and such they are
against.
In the Middle East, as Sunni leaders lose strength and influence, they cleave towards
the strong radical Islamic leaders. Most Sunni Muslims also view themselves as victims
of marginalization and defeat.8 Because of this, once the Islamic State has been
established, it was viewed to be a short-term glory for all Sunni countries and its
citizens. This resulted in the massive support for the jihadists, allowing them to expand
into one of the biggest jihadist groups in a relatively short time.
Pope Francis, another religious leader just like the Islamic State, is the pinnacle
of Catholic society. However, he makes himself distinct from the Islamic State in the
way the influence he receives is not used to gain support for his actions, but to change
the world for the better. As society continues to abandon all forms of faith, in
Christianity, the people turn towards the Pope in search of religious guidance,
increasing the authority of the Pope.
These two religious groups are similar in the way they gain influence through the
ways of religion but are vastly contrasting in their differences of how they use that
authority and how they attempt to preserve their authority for future times.
8
Khashan, Hilal. "Dateline: why Lebanon's Sunnis support ISIS." Middle East Quarterly, Summer 2015. Gale In
Context: Canada, https://link-galecom.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/apps/doc/A496645111/CIC?u=utoronto_main&sid=CIC&xid=c7958de8.
Accessed 18 Feb. 2020.
5
ISIS – religious unity
Jihadist groups are a way that fundamentalist Muslims, especially the extremists,
pronounce their displeasure against modern society, especially the West, or
Christianity, which they believe to have been oppressing Islam for decades. They
proclaim to pursue the words of their great leader, Muhammad, in order to signify their
accordance with the religion of Islam.
Islamic extremist groups accentuate on the fact that Islam is a peaceful religion,
but not a pacifist one, so they must protect themselves from unbelievers. 9 From Abul al
Maududi, the objective of the jihadists is to terminate all reign of non-Islamic systems,10
and as Muslims loathed Western Colonization for affecting their territories, Abul’s idea
became prevalent around the Islamic society. Following the will of Allah is regarded to
be the optimal solution, and as Western civilization incessantly interferes within Middle
Eastern politics, they believe this is the continuation of colonial domination.11 For such
reasons, the public yearned for a ruling party that obediently follows the Sharia law, the
canonical law of the Qur’an.
And who is better to be a leader for following Islamic laws than a devout Muslim?
From the classification of their leader, the Islamic State makes themselves distinct from
other jihadist groups, by venerating their leader as the “commander of the faithful”. 12 By
justifying his position as their leader of the faithful, it soothes the people as they can
9
Kelly, P. J. The Politics Book. DK, 2013.
10
11
12
Ibid
Ibid
McCants, William Faizi. The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State. Picador/St.
Martin's Press, 2016.
6
trust that he is following the words of Muhammed, allowing Muslims to view him as the
caliph, or the successor of Muhammed. This allows all Sunni population within the
Islamic State can be united under the commander.
Humans are very attracted to being in groups, and feel alienated when they’re
not feeling included.13 ISIS becomes a moral community that leads the people together.
The “commander of the faithful” unites them under his religious authority. Furthermore,
cultural developments are more quickly evolved than physical developments,14 humans
also strive to integrate more people into their culture, and find better cultures for
themselves as well. Thus, they seek to find new and improved cultures that can unite
them.
From their name, the Islamic State makes themselves distinct from other jihadist
groups as well. Their name evokes memories of ancient medieval caliphates, which
captivates young radicals yearning for freedom. In 1924, the last Sunni caliphate, the
Ottoman empire, had been annihilated by Kemal Ataturk,15 and the Sunni Muslims
yearned for another state for the Sunni people.
To make matters worse, Nour-al Maliki, the former prime minister of Iraq,
alienated the Sunnis from society in general, as he favoured the Shia population. He
promised the Americans to create an impartial government, which ceased immediately
after their departure, starting from threatening his Sunni vice president to be
13
Haidt, Jonathan. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion. Penguin Books,
2013.
14
Ibid
15
Holmes, Michael. Interview with Bozier Wedeman. Iraq’s new crisis, by CNN,2014
7
incarcerated.16 Ibn Khaldun proclaimed, “Governments prevent injustice, other than the
ones such as it commits itself.”17 This oppression of the Sunni population only resulted
in many Sunni jihadists fighting against their government. Nour-al Maliki responded to
this by urging Shia militants to bond, and legalized terrors against the Sunni population.
This was highly ironic, as tearing down the Shia groups was one of Nour-al Maliki’s only
achievements.18
A jihadist group stating they will re-establish the Sunni caliphate is bound to be
alluring for all the Sunni groups. For the uneducated Sunni population, Shia oppression
and lack of government aid caused them to be more hostile toward the Shia
government. Thus, the caliphate that ISIS declared to establish for the Sunni population
became a ray of hope for them. Once ISIS declared they are the prototype of that
caliphate, hundreds of Sunnis Muslims enlisted in the army of salvation.19
Once they enlist, the flag becomes their representative symbol, the mark of unity
among all Sunni Muslim. The Islamic State utilises the black flag, and writes upon it: “No
god but God, and Muhammad and is the messenger of God.”20 Using religious terms
and symbols considered basic knowledge from the religion of Islam, it signifies how they
are striving to unite everyone under their flag.21 Writing this upon their flag emphasizes
16
Ibid
Kelly, P. J. The Politics Book. DK, 2013.
18
Cockburn, Patrick. “ISIS Terror Will Affect Everyone.” Belfast Telegraph; Belfast, 13 Aug. 2014.
17
19
McCants, William Faizi. The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State.
Picador/St. Martin's Press, 2016.
20
Ibid
21
McCants, William Faizi. The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State.
Picador/St. Martin's Press, 2016.
8
the importance religion plays within their lives, uniting them within the same religion,
and protecting them as well.
The unity of their religious symbols and doctrines merely allows for greater
authority and higher numbers of people enlisting in the “army of salvation”. Although
they are one of the most influential jihadist groups of modern times, they continue to find
ways to proclaim victory in the future.
ISIS – preparation for the future
All Jihadist groups require to prepare for their future. Knowing they have not died
in vain is the strongest impetus for young radicals to enlist in their groups. On June 10,
2014, Iraq’s capital, Mosul, was conquered by ISIS.22 This triumphant victory gave
Sunnis worldwide new courage, as they are able to
This is demonstrated within ISIS, as they publicly announced they follow even
laws abhorred by fellow Muslims, because it has been written. Claiming this was a
practice done during the eras of Muhammed, they enshrine it as a component of their
ideologies, and announce it to be a part of their virtuous Islamic project.23 By enshrining
this within their legislations, ISIS shows more promise and are able to acquire more
young followers to enlist in their fight for Islam. While this public statement caused much
22
Cockburn, Patrick. “ISIS Terror Will Affect Everyone.” Belfast Telegraph; Belfast, 13 Aug. 2014.
NPR. “'New York Times': Islamic State Uses Quran To Justify Rape Of Yazidi Women.” NPR, NPR, 13 Aug. 2015,
www.npr.org/2015/08/13/432122595/new-york-times-islamic-state-uses-quran-to-justify-rape-of-yazidi-women.
23
9
repulsion from even the Sunni populations, they show more promise for nurturing future
jihadists, fighting for their commander of the faithful.24
People unhappy with the Umayyad rule and their power caused prophecies of
someone from the Prophet’s family, called Mahdi, returning justice to the world to
circulate.25 Like most Islamic prophecies about the end of days, those about the Mahdi
are not found the Qur’an, but in compendia of the words and deeds of the Prophet
Muhammed and his friends, called the ahadith. These were written decades, perhaps
centuries after the demise of the Prophet, and were an integration of the political and
religious cultures of that era. However, as time passed by, only the prophetic residue
remained, allowing jihadists to utilise it to proclaim their validity.
Ibn Khaldun lamented over how effective this was for the everyday citizens:
“Because masses are gullible, leaders wrap themselves in the saviour’s mantel to
mobilize them.”26 The moral reasoning of the ahadith being used not only justified their
actions, but also convinced the masses that they would be triumphant in the end.
The abilities of ISIS to use the religious symbols quite efficiently and effectively
has influenced other jihadist groups as well. By their might and service to Allah, Boko
Haram, another extremist group, forged an alliance with the Islamic State.27 Unless
there is chance of infidelity from ISIS, they will battle alongside the caliphate until Allah
24
Callimachi, Rukmini. “ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Aug.
2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isis-enshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html
25
McCants, William Faizi. The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State.
Picador/St. Martin's Press, 2016.
26
Kelly, P. J. The Politics Book. DK, 2013.
27
University wire. How ISIS’ actions affect you. Uloop,inc. Mar 25, 2015. Carlsbad.
10
returns. With the assistance of another group, ISIS makes certain they would not fall
easily, and the Western forces can only look down with unease at their growing might.
In Sunni-populated countries, such as Lebanon, the government must appeal to
its citizens to not support ISIS, which seems to be of no avail. Lebanese army and proHariri activists are continuously assaulted by supporters of the Islamic State.
As well as those methods to preserve their authority for the future, they even
utilise modern-world problems to enforce their might. ISIS states that corona is a
messenger of Allah against the Americans, and is the retribution for their sins.28
Disregarding the effects of the catastrophe upon Iraq, ISIS has proclaimed this is the
perfect moment to strike against America since the 9/11 attacks, allowing the
destruction of the falsely idolized America.29
Pope – religious commitment
The line of Popes is to be believed to have been descended from the era of
Jesus, from one of his twelve disciples, Saint Peter. Within the Bible, it writes, “I will give
you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, whatever you bound on earth will be bound in
heaven, and whatever you let loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 30 (Matthew
16:19) As the descendancy of the Popes is the one who holds keys into eternal
blessing, all Catholics depend on him very dearly.
28
HunterMore, Brad, and Brad Hunter. “ISIS, Al-Qaida Commandeer COVID-19 as a 'Soldier of Allah'.” Toronto Sun,
Toronto Sun, 3 Apr. 2020, torontosun.com/news/world/isis-al-qaida-commandeer-covid-19-as-a-soldier-of-allah.
29
Ibid
30
“Matthew 16 - New International Version (NIV).” The International Bible Society, The International Bible Society,
www.biblica.com/bible/niv/matthew/16/.
11
The position of the Pope has then been bestowed upon the man most faithful
and sincere about his religious identity, and is appointed by the College of Cardinals,
the bishops ordained by the old Pope.31 This comforts the believers, knowing that it is
almost impossible that new leaders are committing controversial acts, which is always
demonstrated in government. This contrast between the two ruling parties allow for the
people to feel more comfortable following the words of the Pope than their governing
party, resulting in a higher authority for him.
For Catholics, unlike Protestants, the doctrines emphasize the importance of
one’s actions done on Earth. And what better way to make certain of what is right than
to emulate the Pope? The Pope, being the one who demonstrates religious
commitment, demonstrating the apex of a true Christian, is thus followed by all
Catholics, and even some Christians.
With his actions, the Pope influences the behaviours of not only Catholics, but
also everyday citizens as well. When the Pope declared all Catholics should preserve
the Earth’s environment against climate change, the people were divided in two.
Democrats encouraged the Pope to continue, but the Republicans mocked him for
attempting to delve into the area of science, where the Church has been known to have
been completely wrong several times before. Although Republican Catholics were
31
Services, BBC News. “Conclave: How Cardinals Elect a Pope.” BBC News, BBC, 21 Feb. 2013,
www.bbc.com/news/world21412589#:~:text=Popes%20are%20chosen%20by%20the,the%20Papal%20election%20%2D%20or%20Conclave.
12
against climate change as well, they did attribute higher credibility to on Pope Francis’
message, suggesting the Pope’s mighty influence upon religious people.32
Pope Francis resembles Pope Paul VI by his thoughts about religion being the
centralized core of humanity, being as the piety of the “simple and poor”.33 Furthermore,
he attempts to develop this notion even further, and hopes to connect the religion of the
people into a form of wisdom that does not disregard scientific knowledge, but rather
integrates it into his religion as well.34 Consequently, Pope Francis is constructing upon
the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas, which is believing under the eternal law, humans
should establish a natural law, which applies to human beings in accordance to our
nature as a social animal.35
This is demonstrated in his efforts in feeding the desolate prevalent among
Brazil. Through Cardinal Michael Czerny, Pope Francis praised the efforts of the Sem
Terra Movement, a group of landless workers in Brazil, for fending off hunger amid the
Covid-19 virus.36 He blessed them in the name of God, and hoped for more people to
assist them. Pope Francis’ religious commitment, even during perilous times,
32
Bloomquist, et al. “Cross-Pressuring Conservative Catholics? Effects of Pope Francis' Encyclical on the U.S. Public
Opinion on Climate Change.” Climatic Change, Springer Netherlands, 1 Jan. 1970,
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-016-1821-z.
33
Juan Carlos Scannone, Pope Francis and the theology of the Pope, Vol 77(I) 118 - 135. Universidad del Salvador,
Buenos Aires, Argentia. DOI: 10.1177/0040563915621141
34
ibid
35
Kelly, P. J. The Politics Book. DK, 2013.
36
Communications, Discasterium pro. “Pope Francis Lauds Solidarity Initiative in Brazil.” Vatican News, 28 July 2020,
www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-07/pope-francis-message-supporting-brazil-solidarity-initiative.html.
13
demonstrates how he does not lose his faith even in times of need, justifying the
immense respect all of the Catholic community places upon him.
Conclusion
From the abilities of religion, it can be shown how religion can be more than just
a unifying ideology, but a method to accumulate vast amounts of power at will. The
ability to find religious systems and viewpoints complemented into their political thinking,
the religious support received is much greater than before.
Howard Margolis, a professor at the University of Chicago, experimented upon
people with logical problems, and only the people confident in their answer, whether
right or wrong, was able to explain their solution.37 He considered this moral reasoning,
and concluded that this reasoning was not for justifying one’s own logic, but for
convincing others to pursue the same type of thinking. Because minds only perform
when a certain cultural background has been implemented into one’s life, the essence
of religion can be considered a cultural background uniting them together.38
ISIS executes this quite easily, as most of their people are radical Sunnis
residing in the Middle East, and they are finding ways to unite them under religion and
politics effortlessly. Not even the United States can take on lightly this jihadist group,
causing more people to take faith in their actions.
On the other hand, Pope Francis would find it to be more difficult to unite them,
because the cultural differences would not allow the religious Catholics of the world to
37
Haidt, Jonathan. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion. Penguin Books,
2013.
38
Ibid
14
unite. However, through his endeavours around the world, the Catholic-Christian society
adheres to his voice and always listens to his words.
Throughout this essay, it is evident that the usage of religion is highly persuasive
in the area of politics. For this reason, many politicians are allured to find components of
religion to implement into their policies. However, as shown within the example of ISIS,
religious wisdom can be utilised in ways harming the world, such as the ways of ISIS.
Thus, humanity must be wary of those who attempt to utilise this wisdom in order to
gain what they desire, and become leaders like the Pope who uses his religious
knowledge in order to not only make peace, but to make the world a better place for all.
15
Bibliography
Bloomquist, et al. “Cross-Pressuring Conservative Catholics? Effects of Pope Francis'
Encyclical on the U.S. Public Opinion on Climate Change.” Climatic Change, Springer
Netherlands, 1 Jan. 1970, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10584-016-1821-z.
Callimachi, Rukmini. “ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape.” The New York Times, The
New York Times, 13 Aug. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isisenshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html
Cockburn, Patrick. “ISIS Terror Will Affect Everyone.” Belfast Telegraph; Belfast, 13
Aug. 2014.
Communications, Discasterium pro. “Pope Francis Lauds Solidarity Initiative in Brazil.”
Vatican News, 28 July 2020, www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-07/pope-francismessage-supporting-brazil-solidarity-initiative.html.
Goodman, Len E. “Listening and Hearing.” Society, vol. 54, no. 2, 2017, pp. 163–170.,
doi:10.1007/s12115-017-0117-x.
Haidt, Jonathan. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and
Religion. Penguin Books, 2013.
Holmes, Michael. Interview with Bozier Wedeman. Iraq’s new crisis, by CNN,2014
HunterMore, Brad, and Brad Hunter. “ISIS, Al-Qaida Commandeer COVID-19 as a
'Soldier of Allah'.” Toronto Sun, Toronto Sun, 3 Apr. 2020,
torontosun.com/news/world/isis-al-qaida-commandeer-covid-19-as-a-soldier-of-allah.
Juan Carlos Scannone, Pope Francis and the theology of the Pope, Vol 77(I) 118 - 135.
Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentia. DOI: 10.1177/0040563915621141
Kelly, P. J. The Politics Book. DK, 2013.
Khashan, Hilal. "Dateline: why Lebanon's Sunnis support ISIS." Middle East Quarterly,
Summer 2015. Gale In Context: Canada, https://link-galecom.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/apps/doc/A496645111/CIC?u=utoronto_main&sid=CI
C&xid=c7958de8.
Accessed 18 Feb. 2020.
“Matthew 16 - New International Version (NIV).” The International Bible Society, The
International Bible Society, www.biblica.com/bible/niv/matthew/16/.
McCants, William Faizi. The ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday
Vision of the Islamic State. Picador/St. Martin's Press, 2016.
16
McLeod, S. A. (2017, February 05). The Milgram shock experiment. Simply Psychology.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html
NPR. “'New York Times': Islamic State Uses Quran To Justify Rape Of Yazidi Women.”
NPR, NPR, 13 Aug. 2015, www.npr.org/2015/08/13/432122595/new-york-times-islamicstate-uses-quran-to-justify-rape-of-yazidi-women.
Services, BBC News. “Conclave: How Cardinals Elect a Pope.” BBC News, BBC, 21
Feb. 2013, www.bbc.com/news/world21412589#:~:text=Popes%20are%20chosen%20by%20the,the%20Papal%20election%
20%2D%20or%20Conclave.
University wire. How ISIS’ actions affect you. Uloop,inc. Mar 25, 2015. Carlsbad.