Political leaders and regimes are increasingly using religious levers to justify and promote violent conflicts across the globe [1, 2].
This trend is significant because it allows governments to mobilize populations and legitimize power by exploiting the faith of believers. By framing geopolitical struggles as religious imperatives, leaders can secure popular support while marginalizing other faith groups or opposing factions [1, 2].
These dynamics are currently appearing in the international context of 2025 and 2026, with specific examples noted in the Middle East and Southeast Asia [3, 4, 5]. In these regions, the intersection of faith and governance is often used as a shortcut for politicians to validate aggression [1, 2].
However, the role of religion varies by conflict. While some reports emphasize the use of faith as a primary driver for violence, other geopolitical tensions remain rooted in territorial disputes. For example, reports on conflict between Cambodia and Thailand focused on territorial violations and the breach of a ceasefire agreement reached in late December 2025 [6].
Despite these territorial drivers, analysts said a broader pattern exists where regimes utilize religious narratives to provide a moral veneer for state-sponsored violence [1]. This strategy transforms political objectives into spiritual battles, making diplomatic resolutions more difficult to achieve as the stakes are elevated from land and power to divine mandate [1, 2].
“Regimes are exploiting the faith of believers as a pretext to promote violence and wars.”
The instrumentalization of religion by state actors suggests a shift toward identity-based conflict, where political goals are masked by spiritual rhetoric. When regimes frame territorial or power struggles as religious wars, they increase the risk of long-term instability by dehumanizing opponents and making compromise appear as a betrayal of faith.
