ABSTRACT
Sociology of religion is increasingly inspired by political science in its analysis of contemporary religion. This includes a growing interest in the role of the State, which has become a popular focus in the sociological study of religion over the last decade. 1 The background of this interest is related to a broader change in global political economy that has been pushing nation-states to adapt to globalization, be it due to global trade, international migrations, terrorism or any other reason. States’ efforts to deal with globalization have led to changes in several aspects of societal life and state regulation since the 1980s. In this respect, the development in the sociology of religion is by no means unique; it rather reflects a wider change in sociology, also named a “political turn” (Thörn, 2010: 73–80). While there remains ambiguity of how important these changes for advanced industrial societies ultimately are, it is nevertheless clear that states have in part reinvented their role, and that this has led to both intended and unintended consequences in many areas of organization of society and state regulation (Pierson, 2006: 205–212). Regarding religion, it appears that the changes in political economy have led to both intended and, maybe more importantly, unintended consequences (Martikainen, 2012).
