Scuffle between Religion and Politics

Religion and politics are two inflammable subjects and throwing them into each other’s sphere is source to cause a firestorm. No one is more perilous and hazardous than a man who knows he is equitable and fair, except a man who knows that divine has told him he is right. Historically, correlation between religion and politics has had an ambivalent, equivocal and uncertain trend.

Sometimes there was a total separation, detachment and severances between the politics and religion and sometimes the interconnectedness and association caused the two domains to be inseparable and indivisible. In cases of inseparability the hierarchy arrangement of the politics and religion were interchangeable and replaceable. This correlation and association between religion and politics should however be understood contextually. Politics refer to the collective decision making process to the welfare and well-being of a substantial group of people (mostly a nation) that inhabit in a specific and distinct territory and domain.

Politics therefore refer to a series of action and not a fixed entity. On the other hand, Religion is part of the heritage and legacy of a people. The essence and identity of religion is to connect man to God and spirituality. The relation with divine is uplifted quality over temporal, worldly and profane matters. In order to gain objectives; the scuffle between religion and politics is actually a fight between human conduct and human aspirations. Both religion and politics have similar objective i.e., gain political strength and use it to achieve motives and aims.

However, to achieve this object, their methods, techniques and approaches are different. Religion provoke and incite religious emotions and sentiments of people in order to get their favor to seize power; while political process based on political ideologies, diplomacy and political attempts to win public and communal judgments either parliamentary and elected representative government, if the system allows it, or take over power with the help of army, if the society is under-developed, unprogressive and backward.

When religion and politics both unify with each other in struggle to monopolize political power, we call it integration and sharing model. Religion regulates and dictates its authority on sacred laws which could not be altering with human involvement.

However, in pragmatic and realistic political approach, community should move onward, modify, reform and regulate itself with the new emerging challenges of time.In the current worldly state of affairs in which modern and technological inventions and innovations are swiftly redesigning the whole society and mechanical attributes are making it more complex and scientific. Political dimensions, economic systems, scientific evolutions, technology and other branches of knowledge have become separate entity that could be specialized and controlled by professionals.

Ulemas or religious scholars are not in a position to create link between religious teachings and complications of emerging subjects and professions. These are the reasons why in some societies religion is segregating from politics and economics and it no more commanding authority over the society, which it did in the medieval period.

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