Sacred Power in Secular States
The Resurgence of Religion in the Politics of China, the United States, and Israel
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15664/8m1mtv37Abstract
This paper examines the increasingly prominent role of religion in shaping political systems, leadership decisions, and national policies across three distinct geopolitical contexts: China, the United States, and Israel. Whilst secularization theory once predicted the declining influence of religion in modern governance, recent decades have demonstrated a marked resurgence of religious discourse and motivation in political spheres worldwide. Through comparative analysis, this study explores how religious ideology manifests differently across these three nations yet consistently exerts substantial influence over domestic and foreign policy decisions.
In China, the Communist Party’s complex relationship with religion oscillates between suppression and strategic co-option, particularly evident in policies affecting Tibetan Buddhism, Islam in Xinjiang, and state-sanctioned Christianity. The United States exhibits a robust tradition of religious influence through evangelical Christianity’s impact on the Republican Party, shaping policies on abortion, education, and international relations, particularly regarding Israel. Israel presents a unique case where religious identity remains inseparable from national identity, with religious parties wielding disproportionate political power and increasingly influencing settlement policies, civil law, and regional security decisions.
This analysis reveals that religion’s political influence operates through distinct mechanisms in each context—ideological control in China, electoral mobilization in the United States, and coalition necessity in Israel–yet all three nations demonstrate that religious considerations remain central to contemporary governance. The findings demonstrate that comprehending the trajectory of modern political systems requires sustained scholarly attention to the mechanisms through which religious conviction shapes governance, policy formation, and the exercise of state power.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Niamh Graham (Author)
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