Essay on Christianity in International Politics *

[Dominique Spadavecchia, Fall 2015]

This research paper delves into the role the Christian church plays in the political realm of the community it is in varies from region to region. This difference can be seen by the different level of taxes the church pays in various states, and the willingness of pro-Christian political candidates to show their bias toward the church, and how society reacts to them. Tax codes from various international countries are analyzed to create differing levels of strictness that Christian churches face in different regions. This allows one to analyze the relationship between populations and their governments to Christian Churches. The type of government and popularity of Christianity among the population are key factors. To further analyze the role of Christianity in the political lives of international communities, various reactions to Christian political candidates were also researched and compared to gain further insight into the Churches effects on regional politics. This analysis discovered the existence of three different reactions to Christianity in politics. The first is a positive reaction, usually experienced in countries where Christianity is the dominant religion and the government is set up to maximize personal freedoms. The second is a negative reaction due to Christianity not being the dominant religion, or being socially frowned upon. The third and final reaction is a negative reaction due to a belief in secularism, that is, a belief in the separation of church and state. Analyzing these reactions along with tax codes allows one to see how important or non-existent of a role Christianity plays in certain political realms.