Relations between the Politics and Religion

It has been said that “religion and politics don’t mix”. Is this true? Does religion
influence politics? Or vice versa? How are religion and politics related to each other?
What do great Christian thinkers say about this? How about the bible? If included in the
thesis, what does it says about religion and politics?

This paper will begin with the presupposition of the Bible as an account of God’s
action and purpose for all creation. God, being sovereign over all things takes
precedence over everything and everyone. For a lighter meaning, this would mean that
everything is subjected to God’s authority even government in existence. The relations
between the politics and religion will be defined by what God and some great
philosophers and theologians have to say about the government and the church. Please
take note that the terms politics and religion are referred to as the same as government
and church. Moreover, they are inter related words and are dependent on each other.

All government is appointed by God.

“He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives
wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” - Book of
Daniel Chapter 2 verse 21 ESV Bible

Here, we can read that it is God who establishes kingdom of men (government) and
gives them to anyone he wishes. Not only had God set up earthly authorities but he also
commanded people to submit to the authority. In the book of.” – 1 Peter chapter 2
verses 1- 17 we find this:

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a
king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of
evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by
doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, and
do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond slaves of God.
Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king”.

Clearly, God is telling us to respect and obey the institutions that were created to govern
us. It is our responsibility to obey the laws and be good citizens.

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no

authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and
those who resist will incur judgment.” – Romas chapter 13 verses 1-2 ESV

Submission to government is important. Although some governments are harsh and

appalling, each person in authority (politics) will give an account of their actions to God.
Our accountability is to be in submission to whichever government we find ourselves
under at the moment.

The Role of the Government

In the book of Romans Chapter 13 verse 4, the writer explained that the government
should:

1. Promote the good of the people.

2. Prevent evil

3. Punish the wicked who seek to harm people and property.

“For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does
not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries
out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer” – (Verse 4)

The government’s responsibilities to rule in authority over us hopefully for our good is to
collects taxes and maintain peace and order.

Theologians and Philosophers view on the government and the church

St. Augustine believed that the government exists to maintain peace order and enlarge
God’s kingdom on earth to get people to believe and adopt the Christian way of life. He
continues his work by stating that peace and justice are the ends of state. This means
that the government should strive for peace but this peace is not the ultimate end. It is
just a channel to eternal peace with God and that is the ultimate end of state.
Furthermore, “since the state seeks temporal peace, it does perform some good in this
world, and that justifies its existence”. As for justice, St. Augustine related it to
maintaining earthly peace, which can only happen when there is justice. Justice is the
foundation of the state.

On The other hand, Plato and Aristotle have different views on the existence of
the state. Both of them believe that it exists to meet the material needs of man rather
than spiritual.

St. Thomas Aquinas perception on government goes beyond meeting the

physical, material and worldly needs of man. For St. Thomas, the end of state
(government) is the virtuous life and not merely the good life. A good life can be
citizens abiding the rules of law, government promoting common good for the people
and a lot more. According to St. Thomas, “the good life is an end that can be attained by
power of human nature. A role that can be performed by the king. Man’s higher end is
the attainment of a virtuous life and the duty of directing the people towards the
attainment of this virtuous life falls on the shoulder of the priests, the clergy and the
priest of all priests- God, himself. Bennagen p. 61

Taking this proposition into account, his book “On Kingship”, St. Thomas posed
an intriguing statement. He said that “kings are subject to priests”. The statement can
be interpreted as functions of the kings and the priests. The primary task of a priest is to
take care of the spiritual needs of the people while the kings concern themselves with
earthly matters. And since the spiritual matters are more important than the earthly
ones, priests have greater responsibilities and are of a higher order.

Conclusion

The Bible, the philosophers and the theologians have a clear stand about the relations
between the politics and the religion. The Bible expressed its stand that God instituted
government and its purpose. There was no mention of the church interfering to the
matters of the state. And vice versa. For the philosophers, politics should focus on
government issues; create laws that will benefit the society. Protect the state from
internal and external attacks and maintain peace and order. On the side of the
theologians, there is a special need of man that only the church can execute. These are
spiritual that lead to virtuous life which is the ultimate goal of man.

The very core of the religion heart should be the introduction of God to people. Drawing
them to believe and have faith in God. However, since not everyone has the same
religion and beliefs, it is safe to assert that religion propels on all spiritual matters.
Strengthen the spiritual and moral character of a person.

It is therefore concluded that the relations between the politics and religion
should co-exist. With mutual tolerance despite different ideologies or interests.

And there should be a separation of church and government in purpose. In the

Philippines, the separation of the church and the state is declared in the 1987 Philippine
Constitution under the state principles and policies under Article 2 Section 6 thus stated;

SECTION 6. The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.

 References:

How should a Christian view politics Retrieved from

https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-politics.html

Pia del Campo Bennagen 2002 Soc Sci II Social ,Economic and Political Thought

The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines Retrieved from

http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1987-constitution/

The Holy Bible (ESV) English Standard Version and (NASB) New American Standard
Bible