Religious institutions and authoritarian states : Church-state relations in the Middle East
Abstract
The churches in the Middle East are generally perceived to be supportive of the authoritarian states in the region. The motivations for this strategy and its successes and limitations in the context of the authoritarian environment and the religious heritage of the region are explored. The article argues that the approaches pursued are determined by the structure of the community in relation to the majority and other Christian communities as well as by state policies towards the community. The overriding aim of church leaders of protecting their communities has led to a modern variation of the historical millet system, which provides them public status in exchange for their acquiescence in regime policies. This security guarantee, combined with wariness towards other potential political actors and the desire to protect their privileged position from communal challengers, has resulted in the hierarchies' preference for the authoritarian status quo rather than encouraging democracy promotion.
Citation
McCallum , F 2012 , ' Religious institutions and authoritarian states : Church-state relations in the Middle East ' , Third World Quarterly , vol. 33 , no. 1 , pp. 109-124 . https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2012.627238
Publication
Third World Quarterly
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0143-6597Type
Journal article
Rights
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Third World Quarterly 33(1), 2012, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/01436597.2012.627238
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