การใช้พื้นที่ทางศาสนาเป็นเวทีทางการเมืองของกลุ่มผลประโยชน์ในชุมชนเมือง

The Utilization of Religious Spaces as Political Arenas by Interest Groups in Urban Communities

Abstract

This article investigates how interest groups exploit religious spaces in urban communities as strategic platforms for electoral mobilization, vote-seeking and reciprocal benefit exchanges, and how these dynamics shape local political trajectories. Religious spaces such as temples, churches, mosques and other faith-based gathering places are no longer solely venues of worship, but function as political arenas where actors leverage the social capital of religious leaders, network ties and sacred symbolism to bolster candidacies, secure resources, and mobilize constituencies. The analysis foregrounds three main dimensions: (1) the orchestration of religious venues into electoral stages through public events or ritualized participation of political actors; (2) the linking of benefits material or social with political support engineered via religious intermediaries; and (3) the direction of local politics anchored in religious symbolism and built-in community ties, which reinforce power structures and party networks at the grassroots. Findings indicate that once religious venues become politicised, the nexus of religion and local politics coalesces into a new power ecology within urban communities, altering participatory patterns and governance structures. The article further argues that for more sustainable local democracy, mechanisms must be instituted to regulate the politicisation of religious sites and to enhance civic participation independent of religious-power linkages. The key contribution is to reveal the strategic interplay among religion, vested interests and sub-national politics an underexplored facet of contemporary urban political change.