Religion model of authoritarian control

Introduction

The relationship between religion and authoritarian control is a complex and multifaceted topic. Authoritarian regimes often manipulate religious institutions and beliefs to maintain control over society. This synthesis explores how different research papers address the intersection of religion and authoritarianism, focusing on the mechanisms through which religion is used as a tool for social control and the implications of this dynamic.

Key Insights

Co-optation and Repression of Religion:
- Authoritarian regimes use both positive endorsement (co-optation) and negative restrictions (repression) to control religious groups, with the capacity and ambition of both the religious groups and the regimes being key determinants of regulation.
Religion as a Source of Morality and Social Control:
- Religion often reinforces the edicts of secular authorities, providing moral codes that support social control and prevent societal collapse into chaos or authoritarian rule.
Religious Authority and Authoritarian Values:
- Religious authority can influence authoritarian child-rearing values, deliberative values, and democratic norms, indicating a distinct connection between religious authority and political behavior.
Ritual Governance in Authoritarian States:
- In some authoritarian contexts, state-sponsored religious rituals, such as the baci ritual in Laos, are used to combine unity with coercive hierarchy, demonstrating the role of ritual in governance and control.
Psychological and Sociological Perspectives on Authoritarianism and Religion:
- Psychologists argue that deference to authority is a personality-driven variable, while sociologists contend that it is shaped by social interactions, including religious influences. Both perspectives highlight the role of religion in shaping authoritarian outlooks.
Cross-Cultural Association between Religiousness and Authoritarianism:
- There is a strong and positive association between authoritarianism and religious orientation across different cultural contexts, regardless of the type of religious orientation (intrinsic or extrinsic).
Response to Threats on Religious Beliefs:
- Individuals with high levels of authoritarianism show greater support for religious fundamentalist ideals and stronger religious identification when exposed to threats, indicating that threat perception amplifies the connection between authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism.

Conclusion

The research collectively indicates that authoritarian regimes strategically manipulate religion to maintain control, using both co-optation and repression. Religion serves as a source of morality and social control, reinforcing authoritarian values and behaviors. The relationship between religion and authoritarianism is influenced by both psychological dispositions and social interactions, with cross-cultural evidence supporting a strong link between religiousness and authoritarianism. Additionally, exposure to threats can intensify the connection between authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism, further solidifying the role of religion in authoritarian control.

Religion model of authoritarian control

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Co-optation and Repression of Religion in Authoritarian Regimes

Positive endorsement of religion in authoritarian regimes can be understood as co-optation, while negative restrictions are seen as repression, with capacity and ambition being key determinants of religion's regulation.

Religion: Morality and Social Control

Religion serves as a key source of morality and social control, influencing the transition from traditional communities to urban industrial societies without collapse or authoritarian rule.

Religious Authority in a Democratic Society: Clergy and Citizen Evidence from a New Measure

Religious authority values provide a distinct measurement of how people connect to religion in politically salient ways, influencing their connection to religion and their political engagement.

Religious Resurgence, Authoritarianism, and “Ritual Governance”: Baci Rituals, Village Meetings, and the Developmental State in Rural Laos

"Ritual governance" in Laos, using baci rituals and village meetings, demonstrates the importance of state-sponsored rituals for development and highlights the need for nuanced state conceptions in discussions of religiosity and authoritarianism in Asia.

Authoritarian leadership: Is democracy in peril?

Authoritarian leadership, based on charismatic figures, may invite authoritarianism and harbour the seed of fascism within democracy.

Authority, Authoritarianism, and Religion

This paper suggests that a unified theory of religious authority, incorporating personality and social factors, is needed to better understand the influence of religion on individuals' deference to authority.

Cross-Cultural Insight into the Association between Religiousness and Authoritarianism

Authoritarianism is strongly and positively associated with all types of religious orientation across different cultural environments, with no clear link to extrinsic orientation.

Authoritarianism and religious identification: Response to threats on religious beliefs

High levels of authoritarianism lead to greater support for religious fundamentalist ideals and stronger identification with their religion, especially when exposed to threats.

When authoritarianism meets religion: Sacrificing others in the name of abstract deontology

Authoritarianism and religious ideas can combine to lead to behaviors that harm others in the name of abstract deontology, even proximal people.

Religion and politics in post-1991 Ethiopia: making sense of Bryan S. Turner’s ‘Managing Religions’

States adapt different mechanisms to manage religion, including cooptation and repression, depending on the context and religious revival.

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