Religious Clientelism A theory (External link)

This is especially so in areas in which the state lacks the provision of the public good of law enforcement and where even the local superintendent police officer has been appointed through the consent of the local patron-saint.7 The holistic nature of the relationship, and the benefits that it provides to even the well-off client, is best underscored through an example of exclusion, 6 Interview w. [...] The client did as he was told; he threw the pale of sewage onto the fire, and the fire went out.) The patron-saint turned to the client and said “You see what just happened here? No matter how dirty I am, at the end of the day, I am still the one that will save you from the fires of hell and provide you salvation in the afterlife.” On the contrary, in the modern understanding of the client, the as. [...] In fact, the nature of the bond is not limited to the religious following as the political bond is viewed as part and parcel of the religious following itself.9 The unit of analysis is at the individual level and the dyadic aspect of the relationship with the voter remains central. [...] Having described and elaborated on the actors involved and religion as an identity, we now turn to the two main characteristics of the extant theory of clientelism through which I differentiate the sub-type of religious clientelism – the clientelistic exchange itself and the presence of trust between the two parties. [...] Foster elaborates on the mechanisms of the relationship: if the contract is made, the supernatural being grants the request of the supplicant, the latter [client] is obligated, at his earliest convenience, to fulfill his part of the bargain, to strike the balance by complying with his offer (1963:1264).