When Politics are Sacralized : Comparative Perspectives on Religious Claims and Nationalism

Modern politics can be fused with religious and nationalist ideologies and myths, producing state violence. By sharing comparative analyses from India, Iran, Israel, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, and Sri Lanka, this volume examines historical underpinnings, present politics, and the future of the sacralization of politics.

Over the years, there have been increasing intersections between religious claims and nationalism and their power to frame and govern world politics. When Politics Are Sacralized interdisciplinarily and comparatively examines the fusion between religious claims and nationalism and studies its political manifestations. State and world politics, when determined or framed by nationalism fused with religious claims, can provoke protracted conflict, infuse explicit religious beliefs into politics, and legitimize violence against racialized groups. This volume investigates how, through hegemonic nationalism, states invoke religious claims in domestic and international politics, sacralizing the political. Studying Israel, India, the Palestinian National Movement and Hamas, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Iran, and Northern Ireland, the thirteen chapters engage with the visibility, performativity, role, and political legitimation of religion and nationalism. The authors analyze how and why sacralization affects political behaviors apparent in national and international politics, produces state-sponsored violence, and shapes conflict.