ABSTRACT
Religion manifests itself in various ways in the world according to the religionists. To describe this, I make use of the various levels of analysis as common in IR: the individual, national, transnational, and international levels. Religiously inspired individuals exert influence on public and political life. Because religion directly influences the state, and more indirectly, the political sphere and civil society organizations, I will also describe how religion exerts influence on a national level. Traditionally, religion has had a unique role in the transnational domain and therefore posed a challenge to states, and I will describe this in detail. Finally, the international perspective enters the discussion. This deals with the influence of religion as the origin of a state’s identity. However, it also focuses on the fact that religion could start as a domestic phenomenon and then suddenly turn into an international issue. The role of religion on the various levels, together with the description of the global resurgence of religion, substantiates the claim that religion is present everywhere and needs to be taken into consideration by IR.
