International Politics Reviews

, Volume 1, Issue 1, pp 11–26 | Cite as

Religion and American foreign policy in the context of the postsecular turn in world politics and the social sciences

  • Gregorio Bettiza
Review Article
First Online:

Abstract

Despite longstanding research on religion and American politics, there has been little sustained attention to the relationship between religion and American foreign policy. This state of affairs is changing and markedly so. The past few years have witnessed an ever-growing stream of books across disciplines and perspectives seeking to understand and explain why, when and how religious individuals, organizations, ideas, identities and practices matter (or ought to matter) to America’s international conduct across time and issues. Why this sudden change? This review article contextualizes and relates this literature to the wider postsecular turn in the social world and the social sciences. It argues that research on religion and American policy has much to gain from a more consistent dialogue and engagement with the broader postsecular literature in international relations, and vice versa. The article concludes by highlighting seven promising avenues for further theoretical reflection and empirical research.

Keywords

US foreign policy religion postsecularism 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Abrams, E . (2001) The Influence of Faith: Religious Groups and U.S. Foreign Policy. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.Google Scholar
  2. Ahrari, M.E . (1987) Ethnic Groups and US Foreign Policy. New York: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
  3. Albright, M.K . (2006) The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs. Large print edn. New York, NY: Harper Large Print.Google Scholar
  4. Bacevich, A. and Prodromou, E . (2004) God Is not neutral: Religion and US foreign policy AFTER 9/11. Orbis 48 (1): 43–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Berger, P.L . (1999) The Desecularization of the World: Resurgent Religion and World Politics. Grand Rapids, MI: Ethics and Public Policy Center; Eermans Publishing.Google Scholar
  6. Brooks, D . (2007) Obama, gospel and verse. New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/opinion/26brooks.html?_r=0, accessed 20 January 2007.
  7. Bush, G.W . (2001) Remarks by the President Upon Arrival 2001 http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/print/20010916-2.html, accessed 10 January 2012.
  8. Byrnes, T.A . (2011) Reverse Mission: Transnational Religious Communities and the Making of Us Foreign Policy. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
  9. Casanova, J . (1994) Public Religions in the Modern World. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
  10. Chaplin, J. and Joustra, R . (2010) God and Global Order: The Power of Religion in American Foreign Policy. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.Google Scholar
  11. Chicago Council (2010) Engaging religious communities abroad: A new imperative for U.S. foreign policy. In: Report of the Task Force on Religion and the Making of U.S. Foreign Policy. R.S. Appleby and R. Cizik (eds.) Chicago: Chicago Council on Global Affairs.Google Scholar
  12. Cox, R . (1981) Social forces, states and world orders: Beyond international relations theory. Millennium: Journal of International Studies 10 (2): 126–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. De Vries, H . and Sullivan, L.E . (2006) Political Theologies: Public Religions in a Post-Secular World. Fordham University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Farr, T.F . (2008) World of Faith and Freedom: Why International Religious Liberty is Vital to American National Security. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Finnemore, M . (1996) National Interests in International Society, Cornell Studies in Political Economy. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
  16. Gorski, P.S., Kim, D.K., Torpey, J. and Van Antwerpen, J . (2012) The Post-Secular in Question: Religion in Contemporary Society. Brooklyn, NY: New York University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Grim, B.J. and Finke, R . (2010) The Price of Freedom Denied: Religious Persecution and Conflict in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Guth, J.L. (ed.) (2009) Religion and American public opinion: Foreign policy issues. In: The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics. Guth, J.L., Kellstedt, L.A. and Smidt, C.E. (eds.) New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 243–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Guth, J.L., Smidt, C.E. and Kellstedt, L.A . (2009) The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Habermas, J . (2006) Religion in the public sphere. European Journal of Philosophy 14 (1): 1–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Hasenclever, A. and Rittberger, V . (2003) Does religion make a difference? Theoretical approaches to the impact of faith on political conflict. In: Religion in International Relations: the Return from Exile. Hatzopoulos, P. and Petito, F. (eds.) New York; Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 107–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Hatzopoulos, P. and Petito, F . (2003a) Religion in International Relations: The Return from Exile. 1st edn, New York; Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Hatzopoulos, P. and Petito, F . (2003b) The return from exile: An introduction. In: Religion in International Relations: The Return from Exile. New York; Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Haynes, J . (2012) Religious Transnational Actors and Soft Power. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.Google Scholar
  25. Hertzke, A.D . (2013) The Future of Religious Freedom: Global Challenges. Ofrod, New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  26. Horowitz, M.C . (2009) Long time going: Religion and the duration of crusading. International Security 34 (2): 162–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Huntington, S.P . (1996) The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
  28. Hurd, E.S . (2010) The Global Securitization of Religion. The Immanent Frame. http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/2010/03/23/global-securitization/, accessed 15 February 2013.
  29. Hurd, E.S . (2012a) Believing in Religious Freedom. The Immanent Frame. http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/2012/03/01/believing-in-religious-freedom/, accessed 15 February 2013.
  30. Hurd, E.S . (2012b) The Tragedy of Religious Freedom in Syria. Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-03-29/news/ct-perspec-0329-syria-20120329_1_religious-freedom-alawites-and-christians-syrian-revolt, accessed 20 August 2012.
  31. Inboden, W . (2010) Religion and American Foreign Policy, 1945–1960: The Soul of Containment. Paperback Edition (ed.) Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  32. Jenkins, P . (2007) The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. Rev. and expanded (ed.) Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  33. Johnston, D.M . (2003) Faith-based Diplomacy: Trumping Realpolitik. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  34. Johnston, D.M . (2011) Religion, Terror, and Error: US Foreign Policy and the Challenge of Spiritual Engagement. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Publishers.Google Scholar
  35. Johnston, D.M. and Sampson, C . (1994) Religion, The Missing Dimension of Statecraft. Edited by Center for Strategic and International Studies New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  36. Journal of Religious History (2008) Special issue on religion and empire. Journal of Religious History 32 (2): 159–280.Google Scholar
  37. Katzenstein, P.J. and Byrnes, T.A . (2006) Transnational religion in an expanding Europe. Perspectives on Politics 4 (04): 679–694.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Keck, M. and Sikkink, K . (1998) Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
  39. Keohane, R.O. and Nye, J.S . (1973) Transnational Relations and World Politics. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
  40. Kepel, G . (1994) The Revenge of God: The Resurgence of Islam, Christianity and Judaism in the Modern World. Cambridge, MA: Polity.Google Scholar
  41. Kirby, D . (2003) Religion and the Cold War. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. Lieven, A . (2005) America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American Nationalism. New edition ed. London: Harper Perennial.Google Scholar
  43. Lipset, S.M . (1996) American Exceptionalism: A Double-Edged Sword. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.Google Scholar
  44. Lynch, C . (2009) A neo-weberian approach to religion in international politics. International Theory 1 (3): 381–408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Mamdani, M . (2002) Good Muslim, bad Muslim: A political perspective on culture and terrorism. American Anthropologist 104 (3): 766–775.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  46. Marsden, L . (2008) For God's Sake: The Christian Right and US Foreign Policy. London; New York: Zed Books.Google Scholar
  47. McDougall, W.A . (1997) Promised Land, Crusader State: The American Encounter with the World Since 1776. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
  48. Mead, W.R . (2002) Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How it Changed the World. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  49. Mead, W.R . (2006) God's country. Foreign Affairs 85 (5): 24–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  50. Mendelsohn, B . (2012) God vs. Westphalia: Radical Islamist movements and the battle for organizing the world. Review of International Studies 38 (3): 589–613.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Nexon, D.H . (2009) The Struggle for Power in Early Modern Europe: Religious Conflict, Dynastic Empires, and International Change. Princeton, NJ; Oxford: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  52. Niebuhr, R. and Bacevich, A.J . (2008) The Irony of American History. University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  53. Noll, M.A . (2009) Religion and the American founding. In: E.S. Corwin, A.K. Lyman and J.L. Guth (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics. Vol.xi. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 586.Google Scholar
  54. Obama, B . (2009) President Obama Addresses Muslim World in Cairo. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/04/AR2009060401117.html, accessed 25 November 2011.
  55. PEW (2002) Among Wealthy Nations U.S. Stands Alone in its Embrace of Religion. http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=167, accessed 02/04 2010.
  56. Philpott, D . (2001) Revolutions in Sovereignty: How Ideas Shaped Modern International Relations. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
  57. Philpott, D . (2002) The challenge of September 11 to secularism in international relations. World Politics 55 (1): 66–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  58. Philpott, D . (2009) Has the study of global politics found religion? Annual Review of Political Science 12: 183–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  59. Preston, A . (2006) Bridging the gap between the sacred and the secular in the history of American foreign relations. Diplomatic History 30 (5): 783–812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  60. Preston, A . (2012) Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy. 1st edn. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.Google Scholar
  61. RIS (2012) Special issue: The postsecular in international relations. Review of International Studies 38 (5): 931–1115.Google Scholar
  62. Rock, S.R . (2011) Faith and Foreign Policy: The Views and Influence of U.S. Christians and Christian Organizations. New York, NY: Continuum International.Google Scholar
  63. Roy, O . (2010) Holy Ignorance: When Religion and Culture Diverge. London: Hurst & Co.Google Scholar
  64. Rudolph, S.H . and Piscatori, J.P . (1997) Transnational Religion and Fading States. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
  65. Sandal, N.A . (2011) Religious actors as epistemic communities in conflict transformation: The cases of South Africa and Northern Ireland. Review of International Studies 37 (3): 929–949.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  66. Schlesinger, A.M . (1977) America: Experiment or destiny? The American Historical Review 82 (3): 505–522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  67. Schmitt, C. and Schwab, G . (2006) Political Theology: Four Chapters on the Concept of Sovereignty. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
  68. Seiple, R.A. and Hoover, D . (2004) Religion and Security: The New Nexus in International Relations. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
  69. Shani, G . (2008) Toward a post Western IR: The Umma, Khalsa Panth, and critical international relations theory. International Studies Review 10 (4): 722–734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  70. Sheikh, M.K . (2012) How does religion matter? Pathways to religion in international relations. Review of International Studies 38 (2): 365–392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  71. Thomas, S . (2005) The Global Resurgence of Religion and the Transformation of International Relations: The Struggle for the Soul of the Twenty-First Century. New York; Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  72. Tjalve, V.S . (2008) Realist Strategies of Republican Peace: Niebuhr, Morgenthau, and the Politics of Dissent. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  73. Tocqueville, A.D . (2000) Democracy in America. The Complete and Unabridged. Volumes I and II edn. New York, NY: Bantam.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  74. Toft, M.D ., Philpott, D. and Shah, T.S . (2011) God's Century: Resurgent Religion and Global Politics. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.Google Scholar
  75. Wald, K.D . and Calhoun-Brown, A . (2011) Religion and Politics in the United States. 5th edn. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.Google Scholar
  76. Wuthnow, R . (2009) Boundless Faith: the Global Outreach of American Churches. London, England: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  • Gregorio Bettiza
    • 1
  1. 1.European University InstituteItaly

Personalised recommendations