No 13, Issue 1       

GOD, NATION, AND GLOBAL PERCEPTION: FAITH–WASHING AS A TOOL FOR IMAGE LAUNDERING AND THE POLITICS OF PIETY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Shikcha SRINKHLA | Dr. Umang GUPTA

Pages: 37-64

Abstract

In a global system increasingly influenced by symbolic politics, this book examines states’ strategic use of religion as a tool of image management, which it refers to as “faithwashing”(Tadros, 2019; Petito & Hatzopoulos, 2003).  Beyond traditional soft power, faithwashing is a sophisticated kind of statecraft in which religious iconography and sacred architecture are used to sanitise authoritarianism and project cultural legitimacy (Nye, 2004; Edelman, 1964). This research, grounded in interdisciplinary frameworks from international relations, postcolonial critique, and civil religion theory (Mahmood, 2005; Bellah, 1967; Asad, 1993), provides a comparative analysis of the United States, India, and Saudi Arabia.  Each utilises religious capital, Christian democratic exceptionalism, Hindu civilizational discourse, and Islamic custodianship to establish virtuous global reputations while evading internal criticism (Jaffrelot, 2021; Commins, 2006; Appleby, 2000). These governments use synchronised pilgrimages and interfaith diplomacy (Mandaville & Silvestri, 2015; Clarke, 2011) to turn the sacred into geopolitical spectacles. The study contends that performative sanctification obscures repression, suppresses dissent, and rebrands control as cultural authenticity. It concludes with policy solutions to combat the ethical and democratic deterioration of faithwashing (Stepan, 2001; Nye, 2004).

Keywords: Faithwashing, Symbolic Politics, Image Laundering, Civil Religion, Soft Power, Religious  Diplomacy, National Branding, International Relations

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.