Religion as political legitimation functions regardless of actors’ actual religiosity

Evidence

Religiously based sacralization of politics (hereafter sacralized politics) is the practice of appealing to religious claims, religious text, or religious beliefs to justify and legitimize policies, in any area, explicitly or in coded manner, regardless of the political actors’ religious or secular worldview. In its various forms of political encounter with national, religious, or ethnic groups in the same homeland, the sacralization of politics serves to sanction the power of one group and establish not only its exclusive sovereignty (even in multiethnic states) but also its exclusive political authority and belonging to a homeland. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 103

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the volume’s working definition of sacralized politics, and highlights the secular-agent paradox central to the comparison.
• XREF: This secular-agent-invoking-sacred-claims point parallels how Ottoman or Mughal rulers could invoke religion politically without personal piety — candidate comparative anchor. — connects to: Secular political movements can weaponize religious claims they do not believe. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 495; Deprivatized religion cannot differ from secular vote-seeking politics — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular:…, 908; Religious claims serve different functions depending on political position — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 207 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Deprivatized religion cannot differ from secular vote-seeking politics #expands (0.85) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 908
• Religion’s resurgence reflects political instrumentalization, not personal piety #corroborates (0.82) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 1664
• Religious claims serve different functions depending on political position #qualifies (0.80) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 207