Research Proposal about Politics and Religion

[CivisRomanusSum]

Hi there. I was wondering if any of you can suggest a good research topic on the subject of Politics and Religion?

I was thinking the scope of my study would encompass and Asia and the Philippines. I also want to explore the correlation of history and political theory and structures with belief systems in the region, mostly Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, but probably also a bit of Hinduism and Buddhism. But I would probably focus more on Christianity and Islam as I might focus more on the Philippines and its relations with its mainly Muslim Southeast Asian neighbors.

Another topic I probably would like to explore is the relations of Filipinos, Jews, and Muslims, probably on historical interactions and current relations. So yeah, I suppose it would be about the geopolitics of religion, but I kind of want to be more specific…(but just can’t think of any).

But if I want to be more at home, I could always evaluate politics in Asia and the Philippines in a Catholic perspective. Indeed, I might evaluate the Catholic Church itself in the region, focusing more on the politics of Philippine Catholicism and relationships with other politically-influential religious groups, such protestant churches in the Philippines, as well as the Muslim minorities in the country, especially in Mindanao.

I’m not too confident though. I fear that my intended proposal lacks uniqueness and a specific scope. What I stated above seems so…generic and oversued I want my research proposal to be something new (not totally new, just not fully developed in the academe as of yet) and unique, something that might make the average reader realize the significance of these two very important things in our lives: religion, and politics.

Any thoughts?

 

[GratefulFred]

It should be a most interesting project.

Having been to 5 countries in the Far East, they are quite different, so it might be prudent to focus on one country and not the area of several countries.

The interplay of P & R is a huge part, perhaps THE most important part, of mankind’s history. Before the PI knew about Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, they must have had some kind of sense of God or gods and some kind of political system even if only at the village level dealing with adjacent villages. So a description of how it was before the more developed religions arrived would be useful. I think Mindanao is quite different from Luzon. And the rice terraces took a long time to be built and needed a stable political system, IMO.

I personally think that good civil law must comport well with Mortal Law. The most basic Moral Law is our conscience. Then that is developed by the interplay of P & R.

I personally think that mankind’s history is the struggle between king and God. Who should rule? When a king, leader, or government accepts God, there seems to be more peace and prosperity, albeit not perfect. And when the government rejects God and punishes religion we get things like the Nazis and Communists.

In the PI there seems to be an on-going conflict between the Christian and Islamic religions especially in the south. Conditions on Luzon seem much better. What is the government trying to do to resolve it all? Is it even capable? Each side has to want to listen and has want to allow the other to live in peace.

Anyway, just one man’s thoughts before morning coffee.

 

[Dale_M]

It should be a most interesting project.

Having been to 5 countries in the Far East, they are quite different, so it might be prudent to focus on one country and not the area of several countries.

I haven’t been to any of the countries in the area, but know a smattering of history about the region. I agree that the project should be interesting, and may be best to focus on one country. Obviously, its relations with the surrounding powers will also be important. Economic trade will be important, particularly if the Philippines is selected and the period of study is before the arrival of the Spanish. Which raises the question: what time period are you considering?

 

[AntalKalnoky]

A brilliant, but Very Large, and underdedeveloped topic, Civis! Brilliant idea. My first thoughts: Hinduism and maybe Budhism are not ‘religions’, but Cultures/Lifestyles. The Church and The Vatican can be a great research site. The Problem is when Religions become Power and Political Control, as the Muslim extremists in some Islands appear to be. Neither God or Allah endorsed Force, Violence against unarmed; only in self defense of self. Historic Blessed John Paul II the Great historically addressed religion and politics, preserving Cultures and ethnicities, morality. He historically visited The Phillipines several times, and His Statements, Writings are definitive, and topical. Vivat Jesu, and God Help your studies and future. The ideal Philipnne Revolt a few decades ago: Peacefully, Roses in Gun Barrels, Won: Totally Catholic and Chrit’s way. The Egyptian Uprising Modelled itself on the Phillipine uprising, and also won the key Support of The Army. The Libyan popular uprising began In the Same model, even with some flowres in Barrels, gained several Army Units full support, but The Killing of Demostrators by the Duictator was Not Answered Timelly by Military Threats to Stop the Killing at the beginning; now is long term Civil War, with Very Much Death of innocents and destruction of Cities. Same in Ruanda: A million were massacured, by Delay and Innaction by Armed Force To Stop the Genocide and Killers. The UN Peacekeepers there did nothing; World Leaders did nothing. Military Force Can be ‘converted’ to support Justice/Peace; Armed Force needs to be used At the Beginning by Moral forces like the UN, to Stop, Prevent worse results.* Armed Forces for Peace*. (?)

 

[CivisRomanusSum]

Thank you guys for the replies!

In the course of my reading and surveying of the fields I want to formulate a topic about, I got more insights and it kind of made me even more indecisive of what to choose. For instance, I came across the terms “Political Ecclesiology” and “Ecclesial Politics”, which I find to be interesting and perhaps more than relevant in my study of Church-State (Religion-Politics) relationships in the Asian/Philippine setting (I find it funny that even with the setting of my study I’m still not sure). I don’t find this bad though. I feel like God is opening my eyes to all these interesting topics so that I could finally come up with a research topic that would advance His glory.

Anyway, I concede that setting my study in such a vast region (Asia is too big to simply encompass the Philippines, Israel, and predominantly Muslim states). But even then I feel inclined to tackle comparative politics as with the case of said states in the light of religious structures and diversity.

Another alternative would be, again, sticking to just one country, the Philippines, as we’ve got a lot of religious diversity here anyway, albeit the dominance of the Catholic Church. I’ve thought of several other topics, such as the role of religion in the democratization of the Philippines (focusing on contemporary times but drawing from historical experience). Premises could include the social teachings of the Catholic Church, block voting and ethics (whether liberal or conservative) by protestant churches, or the struggle of the Muslim minority to gain significant representation in the national government.

Another topic could be the possible relationship of the Muslim minority with the perceived “feudalism” and “warlordism” in Mindanao, notwithstanding Christian-Muslim conflicts in the area, especially in the estranged ARMM region (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), and also perhaps the Philippines’ role in the worldwide War on Terror.

I could also probably mix in some geopolitics and international relations here, especially in studying Philippine-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) relations in a religious perspective.

Another topic I thought would be interesting and novel would be studying Filipino, Jewish, and Muslim relationships. Whilst Philippine relations with Southeast Asian countries and the Middle East is much too focused on economic parity, I would like to advance the case of studying these relations mindful of religious and cultural differences (using political methodology, of course). I could possibly draw parallelisms in history. Currently, I have a weak premise (I think it’s currently weak but something I could look into and develop) is the phenomenon of the migration of these races. The Jews have had a diaspora and are still scattered around the world (studying the history of the state of Israel and the theory of Zionism could be a bit bothersome though). Muslims, particularly the Arabs, are now known to be migrating in large numbers to the Western countries, like Europe and the Americas. I find the Filipinos in very similar circumstances in the contemporary era, coined the “Filipino diaspora” where basically you find Filipinos almost everywhere around the world offering professional and domestic services. I have all of this in mind, of course, considering religious culture and political phenomena. I find that studying Filipino-Jewish relationships is much too underdeveloped (there is scarcity of work dealing with their historical interactions, especially) and Filipino-Arab relationships much too economic in nature. Any thoughts?

Or I could always hark back to an objective evaluation of the Catholic Church in the Philippines (probably where Political Ecclesiology and Ecclesial Politics come in). I could study how Church leaders and Church teachings have affected political decisions, political will, legislation, justice, and even historical events in the Philippines (such as revolutions). I find this quite timely, as the Catholic Church here is under heavy fire right now due to its opposition to the passage of the RH Bill (Reproductive Health; seeking to subsidize contraception, mandate sex education, teaching of natural and artificial family planning methods, etc.) and a divorce bill. Among other things is the criticism of Church hierarchy due to some of our bishops allegedly receiving cars as bribes from the previous administration (known to be very corrupt). Maybe I could push for the case of the Church’s future in the country, its relationship with our traditional-turning-secular culture, and relationship with other religious groups.

Whatever other topics I come across or just randomly think about I’ll be sure to share with you. I trust in God and you guys that I would successfully come up with a good research topic.

Looking forward to more suggestions!