Abstract:
This thesis investigates the relationship between religion and politics in Israel and Iran through examining the development of Revolutionary Messianism as the founding philosophy of these contemporary states. These states differ in their political history and structure. In both cases, however, Messianism has been the core religious ideology in their understanding of revolution and their religio-political identity in the contemporary Middle East. Revolutionary Messianism negates the existence of apolitical and apocalyptic messianic theologies and gives rise to the emergence of new state actors: theological politicians and political theologians. This thesis examines the transformation of messianic ideology in the context of Israel’s and Iran’s security politics, their political structures, their legal systems, and their social environment. In doing so, it demonstrates the lasting impact of the messianic ideas on religion and politics in these states. It argues that the transformation of messianism has resulted in political elitism, the rise of new forms of fundamentalism, and the de-sacralisation of theology.
This thesis offers a new analytical model for studying the relationship between religion and politics in Israel and Iran by identifying three phases: Revolutionary Messianism, State Building Messianism and State Maintenance Messianism. This model allows us to not only analyse the development of Revolutionary Messianism during the Revolutionary Phase but it crystallises the relationship between religion and politics after the establishment of the post-revolutionary states. In addition, it explains how these states define secularism, secularity, and secularization. It clarifies the boundaries that each state determines between religion and politics and the impacts of the development of Revolutionary Messianism on societies. It argues that in both cases politics is not subordinate to theology, but in fact it changes theology, and consequently religion.
