Title: Religion as political instrument: The case of Japan and South Africa
Abstract: 1. INTRODUCTIONReligion and politics have had an ambivalent history. At times there was a total separation between the two. At times the interconnectedness caused the two spheres to be inseparable. In cases of inseparability the hierarchy of the two was interchangeable. This relationship between religion and politics should however be understood contextually. Religious considerations have been part of political decisions ever since humans governed themselves. At times political decisions were based on consultations and advice received from the (H)holy via the words of prophets and priests. At times religious leaders would oppose decisions taken by political leaders.Extensive research has been done by Fox (2008) as to the different ways in which government and religion engage. Fox (2008:4-5) identified 62 variables each indicating a way in which politics and religion can engage. Moyser (1991:13) indicates that the relationship between religion and politics can play out in three different forms: (a.) political authorities control religious institutions, (b.) religious leaders prescribe to political authorities and/or (c.) a symbiotic co-existence of politics and religion. Over centuries there have been examples of all three possibilities.The dualistic understanding of human existence might have contributed to the disparity between religion and politics. Humans are in nature created matter. But humans are of dual nature: part matter and part spirit, thus indicating a connection to a spiritual dimension. Humans are not only matter, but spirit as well. Plato pointed to this dual human existence: the body is matter and belongs to this earth, but the soul is spirit and belongs to a different dimension (Russell 2010:134). Socrates explored this idea further and suggested (compare in Phaedo) that the body is of lesser value. The soul is of superior value and worth engaging with (Russell 2010:134). This antimaterial position created an aversion for anything encountered through the senses. All material matter is there only to sustain the human body. There is no intrinsic value in matter. The spirit is of superior value.Religion belongs to the domain of spiritual activities and politics are relegated to earthly and material existence. Since Socrates' division of human existence in spiritual and material spheres, with the spiritual as being the superior faculty, a struggle for dominance between religion and politics ensued, causing politics and religion to alternate as dominant power, as Moyser (1991:13) indicates.1.1 What is Politics?A clear understanding of what is meant by politics and religion is necessary. Politics refer to the collective decision making process to the benefit of a large group of people (mostly a nation) that reside in a particular environment (Moyser 1991:4). Politics therefore refer to a process and not an entity. In order for the process to proceed, the mechanism of politics requires certain components. These components contribute to the peaceful functioning of a society. A letter of agreement, such as a constitution, determines the basis on which the society agrees to function. To enforce the responsibilities and rights of all members of society, an independent judicial system sees to the application of the regulations. One of the elective components contributing to the process of politics can be religion. Religion is part of the heritage of a people. A nation is a group of people sharing the same history and culture (Moyser 1991:4). Part of the communal identity of a nation is religion. Religion can become a way in which a nation expresses its identity (Moyser 1991:4).1.2 What is Religion?A definition of religion is difficult. The phenomenon religion existed long before the category 'religion' was created during the Enlightenment period in order to study the human behaviour indicated as religion. Religion consists of several constituting elements. Religion is a social, psychological and material concept relating man to transcendence (Moyser 1991:9). …