The political appeal of religion: A new awareness of what is missing
Résumé
Much of philosophical reflections about the relations between religion and politics fall within the modern liberal tradition of religious restraint, which generated both the backlash of a new postmodern postliberal 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 that the deeply political significance of religion is not merely an instrument used in political contexts for political purposes. Ultimately, I argue that religion is a single culture-dependent set of systematic relationships, or a total social fact that is both a cognitive function of the human mind and a political function of the human society, but which remain hidden behind the moral discourses of religious advocates, political leaders, and academic scholars.
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