There is a history over the centuries of large church bodies using the Fear of God as a way to maintain control over their congregation for political gain. I am most familiar with the Christian churches, less so with Jewish, Muslim and other organizations, so that is all I can really comment on here.

As I’m sure you’re well aware, the Protestant Reformation of the 16th – 17th centuries was in response to the Catholic Church using its ecclesiastical power for political control.

More recent examples would be the close-knit ties between the right-wing fundamentalist churches of the US and the Republican Party. I have heard sermons on the radio (I live in a very fundamentalist state) that connected one’s fear of God to supporting political causes like anti-abortion rights.

There are too many examples of this throughout history to discuss here, but I have a couple that come to mind.

I hope this helped answer your question.

“Fear is also used to keep the Church’s power over their followers for political gain.”

Explain this belief to me please.

Thanks.