ABSTRACT
Exaggeration marks the discussion of religion and politics at the level of comparative politics. Social scientific studies of the 1950s and 1960s argued that religion diminishes in importance as countries become wealthier and better educated. Those studies downplayed the importance of religious leaders and political leaders with claims to religious legitimacy. Social change within a society necessarily affects the relationship between religion and politics, but instability may also result from exogenous political factors such as imperialism, nationalism, and socialism. Ideological stability in the relationship between religion and politics requires general consensus about the place of religious values and ideas in the political system. The ideological pressure for the implementation of the religious law has been greater in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt than in Turkey and Israel. The identity claims, the ideological foundations, the institutions, and the political culture—all reflect religious texts, doctrines, history, and practices. Religious institutions, distinct from political institutions, enjoyed differing degrees of autonomy.
