| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Wiley-Blackwell's International Encyclopedia of Anthropology |
| Editors | Hillary Callan |
| Publisher | Wiley-Blackwell |
| Publication date | 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Abstract
Religion and politics provide an interesting juxtaposition. On the one hand, both may initially come across as rather self-evident categories, with religion dealing with human perceptions and what people hold as sacred, and politics addressing the control and governance of fellow human beings. Nonetheless, such a simple opposition should only work as a starting point for an interrogation of both terms and how they have come to look and function as empirical and analytical categories. Focusing on the ways that religion is played out in relation to politics reveals different historical and cultural constellations and positions, which can be highlighted as variations of religion as politics, religion in politics, religion out of politics, and religion not politics.