Relationship Between Religion And Politics

ISLAM AND POLITICS IN THE NORTHERN REGION: FOCUS ON TIJANIYYAH AND AHLUS-SUNNAH SECTS IN TAMALE

Introduction

Throughout history and contemporary societies, religion has played a major role in political development in the world. There is a symbiotic relationship between religion and politics; Politics has an independent causal effect on Religion and Religion has an independent causal effect on Politics. Weber (1904) in “The Protestant ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”, insisted that causality runs both ways between religion and politics. This relationship can have both negative and positive impact on the development of society. However, there has been a general agreement on the need to separate religion from politics and politics from religion by political scientists.

The relation between religion and politics continues to be an important theme in political philosophy, despite the emergent consensus on the right to freedom of conscience and on the need for some sort of separation between church and state. One reason for the importance of this topic is that religions often make strong claims on people’s allegiance, and universal religions make these claims on all people, rather than just a particular community. For example, Islam has traditionally held that all people owe obedience to Allah’s will. Thus, it is probably inevitable that religious commitments will sometimes come into conflict with the demands of politics. But religious