Abstract:
Religion can be an effective instrument in politics. This has been a
phenomenon all over the ages and different political contexts. Politicians
utilise religion in order to gain political goals. This paper wants to investigate
the reasons why religion is such an effective instrument within politics. The
investigation is as much a historical investigation as it is descriptive. After
careful analysis of contexts, a deduction is made to reach an understanding of
the reasons for the political use of religion. The author identified through
investigating two examples (i.e. politics in South Africa and Japan) several
elements to consider when discussing religion within politics: (a.) no
separation between spheres of existence, (b.) culture of religious participation
in politics, (c.) politics and religion touch emotional and sentimental chords,
(d.) religion contributes to national identity, (e.) religion can provide a claim
to divine approval of political decisions, (f.) religious communities are
effective partners in implementing government policies. The author
consciously decided not to investigate the relationship between Islam and
politics as different elements play a role in such considerations.
