Politics as Religion

Politics as Religion
Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Total Pages : 275
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781400827213
ISBN-13 : 1400827213
Rating : 4/5 (213 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Politics as Religion by : Emilio Gentile

Download or read book Politics as Religion written by Emilio Gentile and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-09-01 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Emilio Gentile, an internationally renowned authority on fascism and totalitarianism, argues that politics over the past two centuries has often taken on the features of religion, claiming as its own the prerogative of defining the fundamental purpose and meaning of human life. Secular political entities such as the nation, the state, race, class, and the party became the focus of myths, rituals, and commandments and gradually became objects of faith, loyalty, and reverence. Gentile examines this "sacralization of politics," as he defines it, both historically and theoretically, seeking to identify the different ways in which political regimes as diverse as fascism, communism, and liberal democracy have ultimately depended, like religions, on faith, myths, rites, and symbols. Gentile maintains that the sacralization of politics as a modern phenomenon is distinct from the politicization of religion that has arisen from militant religious fundamentalism. Sacralized politics may be democratic, in the form of a civil religion, or it may be totalitarian, in the form of a political religion. Using this conceptual distinction, and moving from America to Europe, and from Africa to Asia, Gentile presents a unique comparative history of civil and political religions from the American and French Revolutions, through nationalism and socialism, democracy and totalitarianism, fascism and communism, up to the present day. It is also a fascinating book for understanding the sacralization of politics after 9/11.


Politics as Religion Related Books

Politics as Religion
Language: en
Pages: 275
Authors: Emilio Gentile
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2020-09-01 - Publisher: Princeton University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Emilio Gentile, an internationally renowned authority on fascism and totalitarianism, argues that politics over the past two centuries has often taken on the fe
Martyrdom and the Politics of Religion
Language: en
Pages: 240
Authors: Anna L. Peterson
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 1996-10-17 - Publisher: State University of New York Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Martyrdom and the Politics of Religion explores the ways that Salvadoran Catholics sought to make sense of political violence in their country in the 1970s and
Religion and Politics in the United States
Language: en
Pages: 497
Authors: Kenneth D. Wald
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2014-03-04 - Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From marriage equality, to gun control, to immigration reform and the threat of war, religion plays a fascinating and crucial part in our nation's political pro
Faith in Politics
Language: en
Pages: 331
Authors: Bryan T. McGraw
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2010-06-10 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

No account of contemporary politics can ignore religion. The liberal democratic tradition in political thought has long treated religion with some suspicion, re
Religion and American Politics
Language: en
Pages: 520
Authors: Mark A. Noll
Categories: Religion
Type: BOOK - Published: 2007-09-13 - Publisher: Oxford University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

How do religion and politics interact in America? How has that relationship changed over time? Why have American religious and political thought sometimes devel