Religion's 'state effects

Evangelical Christianity, political legitimacy, and state formation

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4372986
AutoresOshan Fernando (0000-0002-4600-9399, autor de correspondencia)
Año2014
Volumen44
Número4
Páginas573-591
Fecha de publicación2014-10-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReligion (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0048-721X • E-ISSN: 1096-1151
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0048721x.2014.894951
OpenAlexW2038707630
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas61

The author argues in this paper that the ‘state effects’ generated by religious movements – even those operating at the margins of societies – require us to consider anew the impact of religious movements on state formation. In Sri Lanka, for instance, evangelicals are a minority. Yet their practice of proselytizing to new audiences was considered ‘unethical,’ generating opposition that was directed not only at them, but also at ruling elites for failing to stem what was seen as an intrusion of incompatible ‘Western’ ideals. Instead of considering how such Christian movements seek to ‘take over’ the functions of the ‘state’ as has been the experience in the United States and parts of Latin America, the author illustrates in this article why it makes more theoretical sense to ask how their activities impinge upon the conceptual frameworks through which the ‘state’ is imagined

Christian right · Christianity · Law and economics · Legitimacy · Opposition (politics) · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science) · State religion · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development · Religious studies