4.3.3.3  Religious Organisations

(This is an archived extract from the book Patterns of Power: Edition 2)

Adult people can have their beliefs influenced by joining, or remaining part of, a religious organisation and accepting its governance – but they should also have the right to leave it.  (The Islamic prohibition against apostasy in some groups is due to a confusion with treason, dating back to the early days of Islam; the Quran mentions divine retribution for unbelievers, but it does not urge humans to act against them.[1])  Attending a religious service is an expression of obedience to a God, an affirmation of belief in a set of ideals, an expression of solidarity with fellow-worshippers and an opportunity for self-examination.  It also gives the religious organisation an opportunity to influence the beliefs of its congregation.

Religious leaders can also exercise moral leadership by addressing crowds and through publication, potentially influencing people's political views, as with Pope Francis’s condemnation of inequality in an exhortation.[2] 

Religious organisations have internal power structures which operate further up the Moral Dimension, from the level of the congregation through to global governance; all Roman Catholics recognise the authority of the Pope, for example.  Religious power structures constrain the freedom of individual congregations to vary from the collectively agreed doctrine and practice but, as in any organisation, some people have a hunger for power and this has resulted in a continuing tendency for a religion to split into separate sects. 

In some societies, religious organisations also have a role in the Legal Dimension: religious law, as described in the next chapter (5.3.3).  

Religion also has a history of exercising political power under a religious banner, as described in the Political chapter (6.7.4.2).

© PatternsofPower.org, 2014