The Masks of the Political God

Religion and Political Parties in Contemporary Democracies

Luca Ozzano

The book analyses the influence of religion on political parties and party politics in contemporary democracies. To do so, it compares five cases of democracies belonging to different geographic-cultural areas, and marked by different religious majorities: India, Israel, Italy, Turkey, and the US. The time span of the analysis is the period between 1980 (year which can be conventionally regarded as a turning point for the return of religion in the public and the political spheres at the global level), and the present day. Unlike most works on religion and parties, this book does not simply take into account officially “religious” parties, but all “religiously oriented parties” (with an influence of religion on party manifestos, constituencies and/or factions) even if they are officially secular. The theoretical framework is provided by the “cleavages theory”, which considers some relevant traumatic social events as the origin of specific kinds (or families) of political parties; and by a typology of religiously oriented parties dividing them into five categories: conservative, fundamentalist, progressive, nationalist, and camp party.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / ECPR Press

Pages: 276 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼

978-1-78552-337-3 • Hardback • August 2020 • $120.00 • (£80.00)

978-1-78552-338-0 • eBook • August 2020 • $39.99 • (£24.95)

Subjects: Political Science / Political Ideologies / Democracy, Political Science / History & Theory, Religion / Institutions & Organizations

The Masks of the Political God

Religion and Political Parties in Contemporary Democracies

Hardback

eBook

Summary

The book analyses the influence of religion on political parties and party politics in contemporary democracies. To do so, it compares five cases of democracies belonging to different geographic-cultural areas, and marked by different religious majorities: India, Israel, Italy, Turkey, and the US. The time span of the analysis is the period between 1980 (year which can be conventionally regarded as a turning point for the return of religion in the public and the political spheres at the global level), and the present day. Unlike most works on religion and parties, this book does not simply take into account officially “religious” parties, but all “religiously oriented parties” (with an influence of religion on party manifestos, constituencies and/or factions) even if they are officially secular. The theoretical framework is provided by the “cleavages theory”, which considers some relevant traumatic social events as the origin of specific kinds (or families) of political parties; and by a typology of religiously oriented parties dividing them into five categories: conservative, fundamentalist, progressive, nationalist, and camp party.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers / ECPR Press

Pages: 276 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9¼

978-1-78552-337-3 • Hardback • August 2020 • $120.00 • (£80.00)

978-1-78552-338-0 • eBook • August 2020 • $39.99 • (£24.95)

Subjects: Political Science / Political Ideologies / Democracy, Political Science / History & Theory, Religion / Institutions & Organizations

Author

Luca Ozzano is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Turin, where he teaches Political Science and Politics and Religion. He is chair of the Religion and Politics groups at ECPR, IPSA and SISP, and Associate Editor of the ECPR journal Political Research Exchange.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1. Religion, Democracy and Political Parties

2. Cleavages, Religion and Parties

3. A Typology of Religiously Oriented Parties

4. India between State Secularism and Communal Hatred

5. Jewish or Secular State? The Israeli Conundrum

6. Italy from Christian Democracy to Populism

7. Islam, Secularism and Democratization in Turkey

8. The Changing Role of Religion in the US

9. The MENA Region, Islam and Democracy: The Case of Tunisia

10. Conclusion: The Masks of the Political God

The Masks of the Political God

Religion and Political Parties in Contemporary Democracies

Luca Ozzano

The Masks of the Political God

Religion and Political Parties in Contemporary Democracies

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