We can say that secularism entered political life as a world order alongside the Enlightenment. European history has offered the world four distinct models regarding the relationship between religion and the state. Catholics transformed the state into an apparatus subordinate to religion—a preference that can be called the Roman model. In Orthodoxy, religion was employed under the command and objectives of the state, a system recorded as the Byzantine model. Protestants, on the other hand, developed secularism based on a clear separation of religion and state. Lastly, there is communism, which draws its roots from atheism and/or materialism and outright rejects religion.
In Islamic history, the situation is somewhat different. During the time of the Prophet Muhammad and the first four caliphs, there was a union of religion and state. Prophet Muhammad was both a prophet and a head of state. In the period of the four caliphs who succeeded him, the state leaders—elected by the community—came to be called caliphs, and this era can be described as a form of republic.
With Muawiyah’s accession in 661, the “Byzantine model” entered Islamic history regarding religion-state relations. Although there were pious rulers in various periods, it is fair to say that from this point onward, religion essentially served the interests of the sultans.
U.S. President Trump, at the National Prayer Breakfast, declared, “We have to bring religion back. We have to bring it back much stronger. It’s one of the biggest problems that we’ve had over the last fairly long period of time. We have to bring it back. ” Could this statement mark the beginning of a religious revival in the U.S., a country long seen as the heartland of secularism? Time will tell. Not long after this declaration, the Vatican elected an American cardinal as Pope.
The United States, which has acted like a modern Roman Empire, has now effectively sent one of its own, Robert Francis Prevost (Pope Leo XIV), to the pinnacle of the Vatican. For a country with a predominantly Protestant population to have “sent” a Pope to the Vatican marks an unprecedented moment in Christian history. What kind of framework this will establish for future relations remains to be seen.
Is the U.S. planning to use the Papacy as a tool to maintain its global hegemony? Will it serve as a means of intervening in the domestic affairs of other Catholic-majority countries? Or will the peace legacy of Pope Francis be upheld?
Around the world, we are witnessing the rise of religion—influencing politics and, in some places, even coming to power. Israel, Iran, India, Afghanistan, and Syria can be cited as examples. It is essential to remember that religion has been one of the pillars driving the rise of conservative politics.
At the same time, we must also be cautious about the danger of religions, whose core teachings are typically centered on peace, once again becoming instruments of conflict, as was the case in the Middle Ages.
With an American cleric now elected as Pope, are we about to witness a new model of religion-state relations on the global stage? As we step into this new world order that coincides with the election of the new Pope, we will see whether—and how—the papacy and religion will play a role.
