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What Role Should Religion Play in Government Policies?

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What Role Should Religion Play in Government Policies?
Political Science 1020E
Professor Nigmendra Narain
Term 1 Essay: What role should religion play in government policies?

By Nivedita Sen Student Number: 250589199 Section – LEC 575 In today’s world, religion plays a profound part in many people’s lives and they find it important to firmly follow the guiding principles of a religion. Religion has been around for many years and although different people have their own definition of what it may be, religion is essentially a personal belief system. An individual’s belief system is the set of principles by which the individual lives his/her daily life and which direct his/her thoughts and actions. One question that arises in today’s society is: What role should religion play in government policies? This essay argues that religion should play no role in government policies because it would affect democracy of the state, influence laws on the basis of religious grounds and cause oppression of minority religions. In this essay, I first put forward 3 arguments on why religion should play no part in government policies and support these arguments with a range of scholarly articles. Next, I present two counter arguments followed by a rebuttal for each. This is followed by my conclusion, which re-states why religion should play no role in government policies. Religion is a significant factor in determining the quality of a democratic system (Braithewaite 2). Freedom of religion, or generally freedom of ethics, means that one does not need to agree with or acknowledge a religion or belief if it is against his or her wish.


Cited: Altınordu, Ateş. "The Politicization of Religion: Political Catholicism and Political Islam in Comparative Perspective." Politics & Society 38.4 (2010): 517-51. Web. Brathwaite, R., and A. Bramsen. "Reconceptualizing Church and State: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Separation of Religion and State on Democracy." Politics and Religion 1.1 (2011): 1-35. Web. Brathwaite, Robert. "Measuring Church and State: Religion, Culture, and the Impact on Democracy." SSRN eLibrary (2010)Web. Fox, Jonathan. "World Separation of Religion and State into the 21st Century." Comparative Political Studies 39.5 (2006): 537-69. Web. Montague, Phillip. "Religious Reasons and Political Debate." Social Theory and Practice 30.3 (2004; 2004): 327-349. Web. Rosenblum, Nancy L. "Banning Parties: Religious and Ethnic Partisanship in Multicultural Democracies." Law & Ethics of Human Rights 1.1 (2007): 3-61. Web. Rosenblum, Nancy L. "Religious Parties, Religious Political Identity, and the Cold Shoulder of Liberal Democratic Thought." Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 6.1 (2003): 23-53. Web. Smithey, Shannon Ishiyama. "Religious Freedom and Equality Concerns Under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms." Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue Canadienne de Science Politique 34.1 (2001): 85-107. Web. Somer, Murat. "Moderate Islam and Secularist Opposition in Turkey: Implications for the World,Muslims and Secular Democracy." Third World Quarterly 28.7 (2007): pp. 1271-1289. Web.
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