REVOLUTIONS, ALLAH, AND THE MODERN STATE

Revolutions have transformed not only political institutions but also the relationship between
religious authority, individual belief, and state sovereignty. Yet these transformations have not
followed a single historical trajectory. In some cases, revolutionary movements limited
established religious institutions while protecting individual religious practice; in others, they
promoted state atheism or incorporated religious jurisprudence into the constitutional structure
of the state. This article compares five historical cases—England, the United States, France,
Soviet Russia, and Iran—to examine how revolutionary change reshaped the relationship
between religion and political power. It distinguishes personal belief in Allah, institutional
religion, secularization, constitutional religious liberty, state-sponsored atheism, and the
political institutionalization of religious authority. Using a comparative historical and
constitutional approach, the study identifies differences in the sources of political legitimacy and
in the legal position of religious institutions across the five cases. The analysis suggests that
revolution does not necessarily eliminate religion from public life. Rather, it can redistribute
religious authority, redefine the boundaries of state power, restrict religious practice, protect
freedom of conscience, or establish new forms of religious governance. The central argument is
that the political consequences of revolution must be assessed by distinguishing the
transformation of religious institutions from the persistence of individual faith and the legal
guarantees afforded to conscience