The notion that modernity would be a secular age, a triumphant procession of liberal norms and rationalist politics, has proven to be a profound miscalculation. Rather than fading into the private sphere, religion has persistently reasserted itself as a fundamental force shaping political identity, statecraft, and international conflict. From the very foundations of Western democracy to the contemporary fulcrum of great power politics, the cord binding faith to power remains un severed, demonstrating that the relationship between the two is not a binary of separate spheres but a complex and often contentious symbiosis.
The historical roots of this entanglement are deep within the Western tradition itself. The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century did more than just curtail the authority of the Pope; it fundamentally laid the foundation for Individualism. By privileging the individual’s direct relationship with God over the institutional mediation of the Church, it created a theological and social framework that would later fuel democratic revolutions and capitalist enterprise.
Sir Isaac Newton, despite all his work on gravitation, optics and mathematics considered remaining celibate as the biggest achievement of his lifetime. This spirit was carried across the Atlantic by Puritans, Pilgrims, Quakers, and Anglicans. Figures like John Winthrop, with his vision of a “City upon a Hill,” embedded a sense of divine mission and American exceptionalism into the American political DNA, framing the new nation’s project in explicitly religious terms. This fusion has repeatedly defined geopolitical struggles.
The Cold War, while a political and ideological conflict, was intensely theological at its core. When Karl Marx claimed that “religion is the opium of the masses,” he was not merely making an economic observation but declaring a spiritual war. Later when the Ideas of Marx metastasized and shaped communism of the Cold War, the United States consciously positioned itself as a nation “under God,” framing its fight against godless communism as a moral and spiritual crusade. This dynamic persists today.
The support of Christian evangelicals for the gory Israeli genocidal policies under leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu is often less about realpolitik and more about a theological belief in fulfilling prophecy to prepare the ground for the Second Coming of Christ, illustrating how ancient faith can directly influence modern foreign policy. Conversely, the Islamic world has historically operated on a different paradigm, one where, right from the Umayyads to the Abbasids and to the Ottomans, religion is politics. The separation of church and state, a cornerstone of Western secularism, is an alien concept in a tradition that views sovereignty as ultimately divine.
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This schism in fundamental political theology fuels contemporary clashes. In the post-9/11 world, radical Islamist elements view the individualistic, liberal West as decadent, while the West, in turn, has often responded with a commitment to fight terrorism with “blood and treasure,” a modern echo of Pope Urban II’s call for a Crusade at the Council of Clermont in 1095. Furthermore, religion remains a powerful marker of identity in an era of globalization, which, despite its economic advantages, is often viewed as a “siege upon individual identity.”
This is starkly visible in the divergent European responses to immigration; blue-eyed Ukrainian immigrants are often received with more openness than Muslim immigrants, who are perceived as awashing the European borders not just with people, but with a competing, politically-charged worldview. This tension underscores that identity politics is often, at its root, a politics of religious and civilizational affiliation. The current global shift, marked by the rise of strongmen like Donald Trump and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, signals that the post-Cold War liberal consensus is over. Yet, this return to a politics of blood and soil is not a retreat to pure secular realpolitik. It is often infused with religious or quasi-religious symbolism, defending Judeo-Christian values against perceived external and internal threats.
The Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire stands as a horrific historical testament to how ethno-religious identity can be weaponized by the state. Despite all other factors whose vitality can and must not ignored, the ethnic Armenian Christians were viewed more favorably by European traders on the basis of their shared faith compared to the Moorish Ottomans. This religious affiliation lead to a schism which was already falling heavy upon the moribund Ottomans and thus one of the worst genocide took place.
In conclusion, the world has not transcended the age of faith but has entered a more complex phase where religion and politics are inextricably linked. The Protestant Reformation’s legacy of individualism, the Islamic fusion of spiritual and temporal authority, and the use of faith as a bulwark against globalization’s homogenizing force all demonstrate that the political is, and has always been, theological. While liberal norms and secular governance are essential for a healthy, pluralistic society, they exist in a constant dialogue with the deeper, often turbulent, currents of human belief that continue to shape our collective destiny.
*The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of TDI.
Idrees Khan
Idrees Khan holds a BS(Hons) degree in Government and Public Policy and is an alumnus of the SUSI exchange program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Currently, he is serving as Azerbaijan Youth ministry representative.
