Democracy and Religion: A Comprehensive Approach Combining History of Political Thought, Political Theory and Area Studies

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25380176
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Politics
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Iijima Shozo 早稲田大学, 政治経済学術院, 教授 (80130863)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): Atsumi Keiichiro 早稲田大学, 社会科学総合学術院, 教授 (00257239) ; Yazawa Masashi 早稲田大学, 政治経済学術院, 准教授 (20267454) ; Ishikawa Ryoko 立命館大学, 国際教育振興機構, 准教授 (20409717) ; Kondo Kazutaka 青山学院大学, 国際政治経済学部, 日本学術振興会特別研究員 (70434214) ; Takada Hirofumi 国際基督教大学, 社会科学研究所, 日本学術振興会特別研究員 (20513469)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 宗教と政治 / 政治哲学 / レオ・シュトラウス / 現代政治理論 / ポスト世俗化 / 多文化主義 / リベラル・デモクラシー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The result of our research has two parts. First, we studied fundamental questions regarding the relationship between politics and religion by closely examining classical texts of political thought. Our result shows that there are immanent tensions between politics and religion, and they are not resolved under the conditions of the secularization and the Enlightenment that characterize the modernity. Second, as we focus upon texts in contemporary political theory and practices of multiculturalism, we consider what constructive role, if any, religion can play in today's democratic politics. Our result shows that while tendencies to exclude religion from politics remain, attempts are being made to accommodate religion within the framework of liberal theory and practice.

Free Research Field

政治思想史