Welcome to Power, Politics, and Religion!

Religions do not grow in a vacuum—states, empires, economies, and social conflict shape what spreads, what changes, and what becomes dominant. Volume 7 examines how power and belief interact: how leaders use religion, how religion challenges leaders, and how political struggles are often labeled “religious.”

These labs strengthen students’ ability to analyze conflict without oversimplifying it.

Mini Labs in This Volume:

• Religion and State Power: Basic Patterns — V7 L1

  Legitimacy, laws, and authority across societies.

• Empire, Conversion, and Cultural Blending — V7 L2

  Diffusion, syncretism, and why religions adapt.

• Conflict: When Politics Wears a Religious Label — V7 L3

  Land, trade, identity, and the role of belief in war.

• The Crusades as a Case Study — V7 L4

  Motives, outcomes, and competing narratives.

• Tolerance, Pluralism, and Persecution — V7 L5

  Coexistence models and what breaks them.