State Repression and Religion: A Statistical Analysis of Religious Groups? Collective Responses to the State

In the study of state repression, theorists have largely overlooked the religion factor. As a result, we know very little about the process through which religious groups radicalize, the types of repression that motivate religious groups to radicalize and the kinds of collective action religious groups engage in. This paper addresses a critical gap in the repression scholarship by theorizing the effect of religion-based state repression — specifically institutional and situational forms of repression — on religious groups' participation in protest and rebellion. Drawing from various works of religion and social movement scholars as well as my own empirical analyses, I argue that religious culture can encourage or discourage dissident groups from taking collective action. Religious groups employ and share various resources and symbols from their religious cultures, which help cultivate a culture of resistance and embattled identity.