Research framework and broader academic knowledge base
Serbia: documented application of the same framework
Why are churches sometimes pillars of the government and sometimes a limit on its power?
Churches and religious communities have moral authority, spaces, money and a network of people who reach out even where political organizations cannot. The government can therefore seek their support to present its decisions as morally, nationally or historically necessary, and in turn offer privileges, property, media space or influence in education.
The same independence, however, can turn the church into a place of protection, public criticism and gathering of people that the state hardly ignores. The relationship differs between faiths, countries and within the same community. The official alliance of the religious leadership and the authorities does not automatically say what the local clergy and the faithful think. It is important who controls the appointments and resources, how much the community can publicly refuse the request of the government and what consequences it then bears.
Experiences of countries and faiths differ greatly. The official alliance of the church leadership and the authorities does not automatically tell what the faithful or the local communities think.
Works supporting this answer, with their evidence type and an explanation of how they relate to the claim.
comparing several countries or cases
Koesel, K. J. (2014), Religion and Authoritarianism: Cooperation, Conflict, and the Consequences, Cambridge University Press.
- Contribution to this answer
- Koesel shows that the relationship between the church and the authoritarian state is not simply a story of repression: religious communities and the government negotiate money, influence, prestige and space for action and often find common interest. That is why the same religious community can be an ally of the state in one relationship, and in the other keep enough of its own organizational and moral autonomy to oppose it.
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Toepler, S., Zimmer, A., Fröhlich, C. i Obuch, K. (2020), „The Changing Space for NGOs: Civil Society in Authoritarian and Hybrid Regimes“, VOLUNTAS 31: 649–662.
- Contribution to this answer
- Toepler and co-authors give a broader logic: authoritarian authorities treat organizations differently according to whether they are politically demanding, provide useful services or support regime discourse. This may also apply to religious organizations, but work is not specific about churches.
Explain how the system works
Teets, J. C. (2014), Civil Society under Authoritarianism: The China Model, Cambridge University Press.
- Contribution to this answer
- Teets shows how an organization can have its own autonomy, cooperate with the state and at the same time remain a potential source of political risk. This is a useful general model of the relationship between government and organized civil society, but the book does not study religious communities.
comparing several countries or cases
Schleutker, E. (2021), „Co-optation and Repression of Religion in Authoritarian Regimes“, Politics and Religion 14(2): 209–240.
- Contribution to this answer
- Schleutker directly shows two sides of authoritarian attitude to religion: positive state support can be a form of co-optation, and prohibitions and restrictions a form of repression. How much the regime will use one or the other depends on both the abilities and ambitions of religious groups to influence society.
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Han, H., Baggetta, M. i Oser, J. (2024), „Organizing and Democracy: Understanding the Possibilities for Transformative Collective Action“, Annual Review of Political Science 27: 245–262.
- Contribution to this answer
- Han, Baggetta and Oser help us understand where the potential power of the church comes from at all: organizations that build lasting relationships, leadership and the ability to act together can have a political power that a loose group of individuals lacks. But the work is not a specific study of religion or the relationship between the church and the authoritarian state.
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