Drinova E.M., Pankratov S.A. The variety of models of modernization and politicization of religion: theoretical and practical aspects

Abstract: The subject of this research is the analysis of the phenomenon of politicization of religion in the context of modernization of society. The article examines the traditional institution of religion within classic and modern theories of modernization. It reveals that within the classic theories of modernization the notion of democratization correlated with the notion of secularization, and the problem of politicization of religion did not receive a proper theoretic attention, despite the rich empirical material. Within the later model of modernization its influence on the process of politicization of religion has been substantiated. The politicization of religion is being viewed as an ambivalent process, which contains constructive/deconstructive function of the political religious parties and organizations. The variety of modernization models within the countries of the Near East and North Africa is being researched through the prism of values of a democratic culture from the positions of the Western school of political science. The authors make the conclusion that the political modernization in the Islamic countries is accompanied by the establishment of non-liberal democracies and radicalization of religion. A claim is made that the political elite groups rely on the “enlightened” authoritarianism and traditional institutions of family and religion, which act as a guarantee of realization of a successful national model of modernization.

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