Religion is known to have a great influence on politics in any country. It has influenced political agendas and policies in human history. Ever since the 18th century, politicians have associated themselves with a certain religion in order to show they belong to a faith. Furthermore, politicians go about their business with consideration towards all religions in whatever capacity they serve. For instance, a presidential aspirant will try as much as possible to safeguard the faith and interests of all religions in the country in order to gain preference over their rivals. Therefore, religion influences the policies and action taken by politicians.
Religion also influences the kind of political leaders who lead the country. If a country is dominantly of Christian religion, the political leaders will mostly be Christians. The aspirants from other religions hardly win in such situations. For instance, in Egypt’s recent election, it was the Muslim backed president who won elections over his Christian rivals. This implies that people tend to favor political leaders of their own religion since they believe such leaders can safeguard their welfare and beliefs.
Religion has negative influences on politics because it creates biased opinions based on religion. Politicians can use religion to cause divisions. Citizens align themselves according to religion rather than the policies and track record of political leaders. This causes political rivalries based on religious reasons. In some countries, cases of political violence based on religion have been reported. A good example is Nigeria where after the death of President Umar Yar Adua, a Muslim; there have been political hostilities. This is because President Goodluck Jonathan is a Christian. Therefore, religion has helped shape politics all over the world, but it also has a negative influence which should be avoided.
Religious expressions are determined by many factors. One such factor is social class. Even though religion is said to be advocate for equality regardless of class or background, social classes still influence religious expressions. Social class affects religious expression in various ways. First, financial strength plays an integral role in determining who has greater religious expression. The more money an individual has, the higher the chance this person will have great influence. In the modern society, individuals, even religious leaders tend to judge the faith of an individual based on their financial ability. With this idea in mind, it can be concluded that religious expression increases as one goes up the social class ladder. The rich can easily express themselves because they get much attention and respect from religious leaders.
In a different opinion, religious expression is independent of social class. This is because religion considers everyone as equal despite the variances in terms of social class. In such a case, the poor, the middle class and the rich will all have the same amount of religious expression. However, this is just a theoretical fundamental which is not implemented at all in most religions.
There have been cases where social class has created divisions in religious settings. In a situation where different social classes live together as a religious family, people of lower social classes always find themselves with little or no religious expression because the higher social classes tend to isolate them. In a situation where people of different social classes live together, people of the same social class usually come together and in a religious setting, the poor will be separated from the rich. It is definitely the rich who have more influence in religious settings hence; the poor will have limited religious expression.
Gender is another factor that determines religious expression. Gender in most religions is reconsidered a determining factor in how religious people should express themselves. There are some religions, for instance Islam, which do not allow people of a certain gender express themselves. Women in the Islamic religion have limited religious expression. In fact, Islamic women do not express themselves at all; all they do is abide by the rules of the religion. Social class has become a determinant of religious expression. Women from well of backgrounds have as much influence as the men in religious matters. The poor men and women do not have their own views, but they do not get the platform to express them.
Therefore, religion is a belief that influences many aspects of human life and is also affected by many issues. Politics influence religion just as much as religion influences politics. The relationship between politics and religion has existed since time memorial. Even missionaries in the 18th century combined forces with politicians so that as the African continent was colonized, religion was also spread. Religion has both positive and bad influences on religion; it only depends on how religion is used to affect politics. Finally, social classes have a big effect on religious expression. This is because religious expression depends on the amount of influence an individual has amongst fellow believers hence, only the high social classes have opportunities to express their religious views.
Works Cited
Johnstone, Ronald L. Religion in society: a sociology of religion. 8, illustrated. New York: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2008.
