Unexpected Convergences: Religious Nationalism in Israel and Turkey

Abstract

This article compares Israel and Turkey to demonstrate how religious nationalism can be analyzed by a combination of historical institutionalism and conceptual history of religious ideas and doctrines. Both cases exemplify how the building of the nation-state was associated with the exportation of the western concept of religion. The resulting association between national territory, state and religion can explain the existing politicization of religion.

Keywords

• nation-state
• religion
• historical institutionalism
• secularization
• conceptual history