Who makes the rules?
Golden buddha, Thailand
Religions are more than just a set of beliefs: they also have priests, buildings, laws and institutions such as schools and colleges, and in some cases, armies. In other words they have all the machinery that a community needs to make decisions, control its resources, transmit its ideas and recognise (and police) who belongs and who doesn't.
Power structures
Each religious group organises itself according to its own rules. Some are very hierarchical, with the power concentrated at the top. The Catholic Church, for example, which has around 1,000 million followers, has a pyramid structure with the Pope at its pinnacle. The Pope's word is binding and he is traditionally regarded as the successor of St Peter (the first Bishop of Rome) and Christ's representative on earth.
Others are more egalitarian. Buddhism, which has about 500 million followers throughout the world, has no single creed, omnipotent god, authority or sacred book. There are, however, many books explaining various ways for people to attain enlightenment.
When religious leaders also have political control, this can give them enormous power over the members of their community. This combination of religious authority and political power (and the resources that go with it) is how fundamentalism in all religions has grown in influence across the world. According to Women Against Fundamentalisms fundamentalism is not an ancient form of a particular religion but a modern phenomenon in which religious institutions gain access to the machinery of the state.
One example of this is the political success of Hindu nationalism in India. Another is Israel, where, since the state was established, the religious party has always held the balance of power in the Knesset (parliament).
