The Inextricability of Power and Religion

    The people who have historically held power dictate the ways in which tradition is upheld to this day. Instinctually, this statement may hold a negative connotation; however, this isn’t always the case. Tradition itself is not always inherently bad, but oftentimes people associate tradition with outdatedness which implies it can be problematic. We see this in Karen Armstrong’s Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths while she deliberates the role of human beings in regard to sacred spaces within religious history. 

    In the case of the Tower of Babel, Armstrong describes it as the “creation of a perverse holy place” because “instead of waiting for the sacred site to be revealed to them, human beings themselves take the initiative,” (Armstrong 52). These people who build these spaces with the intent of considering them sacred are attempting to exhibit power over other followers of the religion. This creates power dynamics within a community that shouldn’t have such distinctions. Armstrong also claims that these men are trying to “‘[build] a name for themselves’… [resulting] in not unity but discord and fragmentation,” (Armstrong 52). Taking into account how power can shift a society makes the creation of “perverse sacred spaces” dangerous; not everyone is going to understand the significance of such spaces, especially if they are built under false pretenses. However, claiming the space itself isn’t sacred is also a controversial take. When studying history, we can only decipher the events that occurred in the past through the lens of what was recorded. If all we have are sources written by the people in power, our only understanding of certain traditions, or spaces, is determined by what those in power want to be remembered. 

    Malory Nye, a religious scholar, says, “religions are bound up with systems of power” and that “religion is a means for those in power to keep their power,” (Nye 57). This is not to imply that all religious people are attempting to power grab; it is not the followers that are the apparent problem. It is more so the people who use a religion to put themselves in positions of power. Simply acknowledging this in terms of Jerusalem’s history, especially since it is so dense with religious history, helps to develop a more conscious perspective as a historian. 

    Nye, Malory. “Power.” Religion, Taylor and Francis, Hoboken, 2012, pp. 57–78.