The Relationship between Religion and Political Systems - Essay Example

The patterns are manifested in Great Britain, where affiliation to the Church of England determined voting patterns. The effect of religion on political systems is also manifested by Catholicism and Protestant views, where Catholic candidates in presidential elections receive distinct and different reactions between Protestants and Catholics. The other effect of religion in political systems is indicated in the prohibition, birth control and abortion debates. Both in the United States, Europe and Third World economies, and religion has been the major force in determining whether the factors mentioned above are legal or prohibited.

The religious issue is deeper in the Third World, where political parties are determined by religious affiliation. Third World economies have varying types of communal political parties, sect-based parties and ideological religious parties that are based on religious views. One of the best examples of the effect of religion on political systems is the Islamist movement in some Third World countries that runs the politics of these countries. Developing forms of Islamism were promoted by Qutb, Mawdudi and Ayatollah Khoumeini of Iran and came to develop to become organized terrorism. Read More