Defending the Faith? Assessing the Impact of State Religious Exclusivity on Territorial MID Initiation

Religion is often viewed as a key driver of violent interstate conflict. Previous studies show that states evincing exclusive commitments to a single religion more often initiate and sustain militarized interstate disputes (MIDs). So too, MIDs between differently religiously-identified states tend to be longer and more violent than between religiously-similar states. This behavior is theorized to be driven by religious actors' prioritization of ideological over material interests. This article tests these propositions, examining whether religiously-exclusive states pursue ideologically-motivated foreign policy goals with greater regularity than their secular counterparts or with greater consistency than materially-motivated foreign policy goals. While confirming religiously-exclusive states more frequently initiate territorial MIDs, they are significantly more likely to do so over disputed territories of high strategic rather than symbolic value. These counterintuitive results challenge accepted wisdom regarding religion's influence on international conflict and suggest critical new avenues for research.