Political Secularism, Religion, and the State

This book examines 111 types of state religion policy in 177 countries between 1990 and 2008. Jonathan Fox argues that policy is largely a result of the competition between political secular actors and religious actors, both of which try to influence state religion policy. While there are other factors that influence state religion policy and both the secular and religious camps are divided, Fox offers that the secular-religious competition perspective provides critical insight into the nature of religious politics across the globe. While many states have both increased and decreased their involvement in religion, Fox demonstrates that states which have become more involved in religion are far more common.

Jonathan Fox is a Professor of Political Science in the Political Studies Department at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel. He also serves as a director of the Religion and State Project (www.religionandstate.org) and as a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. He is the author or editor of nine books including the most widely used textbook on religion and world politics. He currently serves on the editorial or advisory boards of four journals and is the recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Article Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.