RELIGION IN POLITICS

“The introduction of religious passion into politics is the end of honest politics,

and the introduction of politics into religion is the prostitution of true religion.” said Lord

Quintin McGarel Hogg Hallsham. According to Benjamin Disraeli there is no act of

treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable; for in politics there is no

honour; in politics nothing is contemptible. It is in this context Mahatma Gandhi said that

religion and politics are inextricably blended and their separation tantamounts to the

separation of blood and body and called politics without religion a dirty game. For, he

also said in another occasion, “Most religious men I’ve met are politicians in disguise, I

however wear the guise of a politician but am at heart a religious man”. He clearly

contrasts here two facets of the religion, religion as politics in disguise per contra

religion at heart in politics. His contempt for the former is obvious. He sees the latter face

of the religion having ethical and spiritual nuances a la religion of Emperor Ashoka in the

state affairs as inexorably blended to a healthy politics.

Poles Apart

According to Otto Von Bismarck, politics is the art of the possible. It imprimis is

opportunism and deception. It is hic et nunc and ergo ephemeral unlike religion which

seeks divinity and eternity through the principles of Rhadamanthine sittlichkeit and truth.

Politics is selfish au fond while religion is love and sacrifice. Politics seeks power and

excitement while religion seeks peace and salvation. They are poles apart in their means
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and ends and therefore can not bodily blend. However, they can certainly complement

each other as the two faces of basic human activities and enrich human life.

Worldwide Phenomenon

Jay Demerath, professor of sociology at University of Massachusetts, Amherst,

and Karen Straight, doing research there, in A Bridging of Faiths, co-authored by them in

1992 (Princeton University Press), opine that about 1979 things began to change and

religion took on a new political importance. Since then, worldwide, the volatile-and often

violent-combination of a religious state with religious politics is on the rise. The period in

India saw the rise of violent Sikh nationalist sentiments and later Hindu fundamentalism.

Deception and destruction are the two trusted hands of the body of the politics all

along its long history. It was politics at its best at deception that created Israel and politics

at its horrid at destruction that is devastating en revanche peace and security of the

Middle East in the last six decades. Israel like Pakistan came to existence from the

emotional shemozzle of the religion.

Religion Divides

The machtpolitik between the Western world represented by the USA and Britain

and the Muslim world epitomized by the Afghan war and the aggression on Iraq in 2003

deep down symbolizes the clash of Christian and Islam civilizations. Islam inherently is a

fiery and aggressive religion with a political agenda imbued in its soul. It is an abnormal
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conflict wherein the political leaders of the West took on the extremist religious elements

of the Islam. Iraq is only an accidental mactation in the process. However, it is to the

credit of the top Christian religious leaders world over that they refused to involve

themselves in the political conflict and went to the extent of condemning the American

brutality and initiatives. It reflects their maturity and true religiosity.

Religion as politics is a world phenomenon these days. Buddhism is deeply rooted

in the politics of Sri Lanka. The demand for a homeland in Ireland was based on the rift

between Protestants and Catholics in the Christianity. Muslim countries are deeply

divided world over on lines of their Sunni and Shia affiliations.

Religion in India

The love and hate relationship between religion and politics is not new to India.

Vedas and Puranas have references to the corso in oodles. The mythological references to

the conflict between Brahmanism and Kshatriyas as symbolized by the annihilation of the

Kshatriyas by Parasurama indubitably throw light on the age long struggle for supremacy

between religion represented by the Brahmanism and politics represented by the

Kshatriyas of the ancient India. Ultimately, religion accepted its limitations in the

temporal world of power and deceptions and yielded the field to politics while retaining

its divine supremacy in human affairs and activities. The concept of Raja Guru and Raja

Rshis and the respect they commanded from the king and the royalty spawned from this

ausgleich.
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Both Gouthama Buddha and Mahavir are rare cases of political personalities from

the royal family finding their solace in religion d’accord with the spiritual disposition of

India. Emperor Asoka was a rara avis of another kind who brought the soul of religion to

the governance. The concept of Rama Rajya of Mahatma Gandhi is an extension of what

Emperor Asoka brought to bear on the administration.

Religion as Politics in India

Religion as politics in India began to take shape in a big way during the Muslim

rule with Jazia and other religious taxes, forcible conversions and other types of

persecutions of non-Muslims under the state patronage. The Maratha and Vijayanagar

empires are considered as the Hindu reactions to the persecutions. Muslim zealots like

Aurangzeb made his rule a religious cause. Portuguese in Goa followed the suit.

Serious political disturbances in Kashmir have religious emotions working en

arriere. So were whilom Punjab and the Operation Bluestar that led to the killing of

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. India has political parties wedded to the cause of important

religions of the country. There is nothing wrong in that and the Indian Constitution no

way bars them from politicking. What is reprehensible is the misuse of religion and

religious passions to political ends and the misuse of politics and political deceptions for

selfish and nonreligious ends of the religion.

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Anti-religious Politicking

Protection of one’s religion and culture is a sacred duty and a serious need of the

hour. But, God by whatever name belongs to all and His abode in whatever form is sacred

to all. Dividing people and bloodletting in the name of religion is the worst form of anti-

religious politicking. Ignoring the soul of a religion to protect its criminal elements for

political ends is tantamount to violating and annihilating the religion. Pseudo-secularism

is anther shape of the misuse of religion in politics to gain power from the other

extremity. Healthy politics should keep both forms at arms-length. And religion should

keep its sanctity by keeping away from the unholy politics.

Swami Vivekananda considered religion as the core of politics. American

President, George Washington in his Farewell Address of September 17, 1796 said,

“reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in

exclusion of religious principle”. The religion and politics relationship poses no threat to

a country’s polity as long as politics does not use religion and vice versa. Unfortunately

this is not the case anywhere. This wisdom compelled the First Amendment of The

Constitution of the United States of America to lay down, “Congress shall make no law

respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.

Separating religion from politics and state affairs is not tantamount to going anti-

religious; it only means preventing the use of religious passions to political ends and

preventing the use of political deceptions to misuse the institutions of the religion. The

moral and spiritual face of the religion has nothing to do with the division. Indeed,

ideally, as Mahatma Gandhi said, that face should be the blood of the body of the politics;
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but religion not as politics in disguise, for it terminally poisons both the body of the

politics and the blood of the religion. Both do well to limit to their own realms and

contribute to each other’s enrichment - politics wedded to the moral and spiritual views

of the religion and religion wedded to give emotional support to politics in its rightful

process.

Praveen Kumar
pryveen@yahoo.com
Bangalore