Introduction
A society’s political changes can open the door for religious changes. This fact is true because it has been experienced in different parts of the world. It is a fact that there is a connection existing between the religion and political affairs. According to history, Christianity came to be when Jesus Christ was born that brought about the era which we describe years as in AD. Christianity was made into an official religion in the year 312 by the emperor Constantine. In the middle age, the religion imposed their values in politics thus caused many changes to occur in different governments. Political changes began to occur after the Second World War where some countries became communists while others were capitalists (Isaacs 2003). Due to this different political ideology, the religion was also affected resulting in changes especially in the organization. It was during this time when the World Council of Churches was created in 1948.
The main intent of this council was to unite and stop secularism brought about by modernization. According to history, many women fought for equality in fields such as politic, economy and education. As years went by many women in the political fields ended up being presidents. In religion, the first woman to be ordained as a bishop in the Anglican Church was Barbara Harris. The communist governments in Eastern Europe or Baltic states especially in the 20th century have imposed the militant atheism. The government took action against those people that were considered religious by harming them psychologically, physically and emotionally.
The Christians were also rebuked through the political manifestations that were very disrespectful to the values of religion. In the post communist nations such as Latvia they have taken considerable attention in religion which is used everywhere such as in political activities (Isaacs 2003). Due to this change in the political ideology of people in Latvia, the government has formulated plans to start having religion as a compulsory subject in schools. In some states like America, one has to proclaim themselves of being Christians in order to vie for any seat in the government. This shows how religion is important for one who wants to be on the political scene. There are other countries who do not value religion thus will not have any significant impact on politics. A country such as Saudi is Arabia under the governance of Islamic laws known as the sharia laws. All policies that are made should follow the Islamic values. This has made it impossible for people to have free speech.
Some social issues have had major political debates such as same sex marriages and abortion in United States. Most churches do not approve of these social issues and have gone as far as demonstrating their disapproval. According to history, these issues were considered taboo and therefore, were made illegal and anyone caught engaging in them were either arrested or fined (Long 2012). Over the years, there have been social changes among the communities that have caused political changes. This has enabled most countries to approve gay marriages and abortions. This has also made it possible for some churches to accept these social and political changes and therefore, they are able to conduct gay marriages in churches. This political change is caused by civilization or modernization where the cultural practices have changed.
Democratization is used differently in many other countries but it is commonly observed that most countries copy each other. Some of the forms of democracy include free and fair elections. This shows that the governments are competent in their jobs thus will be able to help the citizens. In churches, there is also some change where there is democracy in electing the church officials. The church official’s role is to ensure that the church finances and structure is well maintained (Isaacs 2003). In democracy there is also civil liberties in which people have the right to their own beliefs which can either be religious or not and freedom of speech. When the churches incorporate these values then they will be able to a have a prosperous church. There is also equal treatment of individuals in the church and the government making it easier for them to interact with people or citizen.
It is arguable that politics should not completely follow the religious ways because it can be seen to be dangerous. Through some of the changes that have been made by the government it has made it possible for people not to respect religious books such as the Koran and the bible. In United States Florida where a renown pastor took it upon himself to burn Koran. The aftermath of this action was the deaths of seven United Nations officers (Long 2012). This shows that if there had been rules against these acts then there will be no violence against Christians and Muslims.
There have been major changes in the political organization in Turkey. The turkey government repressed the Islamic religion when President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk took over. He wanted the turkey people to alter their ways of living and replicating the western culture. This caused the government to abolish women from using hijab in areas such as school or any government areas. This caused many Islamic people to protest these acts. Since Turkey is a Muslim state, there have been many organizations that believe that the sharia laws should be brought back in ways of governance (Çarkoğlu, 2004). The religion had to change their ways of practicing their religion in order to comply with the government rules. Over the years, the turkey government has experienced some political changes due to the rise of some Islamic groups who protest some of the rules.
In conclusion, there is a connection between church and politics. This is observed when some political agendas affect religious beliefs. Examples of the social issues that have caused changes in politics are the argument about same sex marriages and abortion. Many Christians and Muslims have protested against these issues because they believe it goes against how god created human beings. Some churches have accepted gay marriages therefore, when states approve gay marriages, they conduct the ceremony. The main cause of changes in the political and religious field is globalization and civilization. Democracy is a way of governance that ensures equal rights of all people. This is commonly used by most political ideology so that the government can run smoothly. The churches have also adopted this way of governance so that it can be successful. Some countries such as turkey have changed their Islamic ways to the western culture. This suppressed the Islamic religion in that women are supposed to cover their hair. The government made it illegal for women to use hijab. Many groups have formed to protest against this act and also to change the western way of living and go back to the Islamic way of living. These issues show how the society’s political changes open doors to the changes in religion.
Reference
Çarkoğlu, Ali. " Religion and Politics in Turkey." UK: Routledge., 2004.
Isaacs, Ann Katherine. "Religion and Political Change." Clioh’s Workshop I, 2003.
Long, Katya. "Religion and politics in 2012 America ." obsevertoire des religions et de la laicite, 2012 .
