Who decides? This 17-page guide examines power at two levels:
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internal (who leads within a religion) and external (how religions shape or resist state authority). Suitable for both the current IB World Religions and the new IB Religions and Society.
Theme 4.1 (Power Within Communities) covers Catholic clerical hierarchy and Vatican II openness debates, Islamic imam authority and diaspora governance questions, and Buddhist sangha democratization. Theme 4.2 (Relations with Political Powers) features Christian nationalism in US politics, Islamic governance models (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey), and religious persecution in China.
Contemporary examples include 2023-24 sex abuse crises challenging papal authority, women imams expanding Islamic leadership, and real-time state suppression of religions. Students see that power is contested and consequential.
"How to Apply" section uses IB language to show how power analysis strengthens essays. Practice questions progress from describing governance structures to evaluating whether religious and state authority should separate.
Also For: HL and SL students, political theology, religious authority study, state-religion relations, governance and ethics, independent learning, exam prep.
Designed for grades 9th – 12th.
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