Lebanon: religion and politics - confessional system

Religion has always held key positions in the state structure of world powers. But if in the West for many decades, religion is rapidly losing its influence on all processes taking place in the structure of society, then in the East it is impossible to imagine such separation of the state from religious beliefs. Especially in this respect, Lebanon is very original. Religion in this country is firmly connected with all political processes and directly affects the legislative branch of power. Many scientists call Libya a "patchwork quilt", which is woven from different faiths and religious beliefs.

What is the religion in Lebanon?

If you do not go into details and consider the religious question from the point of view of dry facts, according to recent data, about sixty percent of Muslims, thirty-nine percent of Christians among Lebanese people and only slightly more than one percent of Lebanese profess other religions.

It seems that this picture practically does not differ from the usual alignment of forces in the countries of the Middle East. But the religion of Lebanon is in fact a much more complex and multi-layered structure, which should be discussed in more detail.

Lebanon, religion: the historical preconditions for the formation of a multi-confessional state

Despite the fact that there are surprisingly many religious movements in the country, the population is ninety percent Arab. The remaining ten percent is a motley carpet of Greeks, Persians, Armenians and other nationalities. These differences have never prevented the people of Lebanon from coexisting peacefully, all the more so because they all share the same language. Many Lebanese are fluent in French and well educated. All this allowed to create a special state, in which the rights of representatives of all religious faiths are observed.

It is worth noting that tolerance for dissidence was always present among the Lebanese in blood. Initially, many residents of the country attributed themselves to the Gentiles. Historians throughout Lebanon find numerous altars and temples dedicated to various cults. The most common were the deities that came from Hellas. Numerous conquests of Libya by Muslims and European Christians could not change the cultural traditions of the country. Each time a new religion was superimposed on past beliefs and successfully assimilated into the culture of Lebanon. As a result, the population of the country could adhere to absolutely any religion, which more corresponded to the preferences of this or that community.

By the middle of the twentieth century, religion in Lebanon had penetrated all spheres of life of the population and, one might say, formed a system of political order that has no analogues anywhere in the world. Most politicians believe that the political model of the country owes its longevity and productivity to the close interconnection that can be imagined as a symbiosis "the culture of Lebanon - the religion of Lebanon". It ensures interaction between all religions and adoption of legislative acts that take into account the interests of all religious communities.

Religious confessions of Lebanon

Muslims and Christians in the country do not constitute a unified structure. Each religion is divided into numerous currents, represented by its religious leaders, leading communities.

For example, Muslims are represented mainly by Sunnis and Shiites. They constitute an influential majority, among the Muslims there are also Alawites and Druze. Christians of Lebanon profess a special direction, they call themselves Maronites. This religious movement arose in the late fifteenth century, its followers lived in a mountainous area and carefully guarded their identity for many centuries. Even the Vatican's influence failed to break the Maronites, they preserved their traditions and rituals. In addition to the Maronites, Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants and Yakovites live in the country. Quite a lot among Christians representatives of the Armenian church.

Confessional system of government

As we have already explained, there is no other such diverse country as Lebanon. Religion, or rather its diversity, has forced numerous communities to look for ways to interact and compromise. As a result, 1943 religious leaders of Lebanon signed the "National Pact", which defined the system of political organization of the country as confessionalism. According to this document, every denomination must have influence on the adoption of laws, therefore the number of seats in parliament is strictly regulated for each religious movement.

Many political scientists believe that this system will sooner or later destroy Lebanon. Religion, according to experts, can not significantly influence the foreign and domestic policies of the state. But while fears and forecasts of political scientists are not justified, confessionalism has firmly entered the life of ordinary Lebanese.

How does religion affect the distribution of seats in the Lebanese parliament?

According to the decision of the leaders of religious communities, the posts of the main persons of the state should be occupied by members of the most numerous faiths (according to the last census of the population). Therefore now the president is the Maronite in Lebanon, and the positions of the Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Parliament are given to the Sunnis and Shiites. In the parliament, Christians and Muslims must have sixty-four seats. This ensures equality of all currents, nobody's interests are not ignored when considering new laws.

Lebanon: official religion

After all you have heard, you may have a question about the official religion of Lebanon. What is it really like? The answer to this question is the most vivid and surprising characteristic of the country: there is no official religion in Lebanon. Although at the legislative level it is enshrined that the state does not belong to the category of secular ones.

So it turns out that in a country where religious confessions occupy such an important place, no one has ever defined an official religion.