Abstract:

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is undoubtedly a country with exceptional characteristics and constituents in terms of the birthplace of Islam and the teaching of the principles of Islamic law or in terms of the economic and geostrategic situation. At the same time the ruling regime in Saudi Arabia is one of its kind, as it is distinguished from the political systems in the world in terms of its conservative nature and rigidness, as well as in terms of the mechanisms of its work. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is among the countries that combined religion and politics in its system of government, where religion has a role and a place in the Saudi political system, taking it as a basic reference for the political system and employing it for the legitimacy of the system. Religion was employed in the establishment of the political system, as the kingdom was based on a religious-political alliance. There is no doubt that religious education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a long history that extends its roots to the past of education and its long history in the Islamic civilization. Religious education is considered prevalent in most regions of the Kingdom before the establishment of the state and during the foundation stage. As such, the influence of the religious factor has become of particular importance and forms the basis of education policy in Saudi Arabia from the beginning of formal education to the present day.

In this article, we seek to shed light on the status of the religious factor at the moment of the establishment of the Saudi political system, and its effect on political decision-making and the educational institution in the Kingdom, in addition to the implications of employing religion on the authoritarian structure in the system, and the mechanisms of action between the religious establishment and political institutions, and we will analyze the role of religion in political, social, and educational contexts.

The research aims to try to analyze the relationship between religion and politics in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to identify the uses of religion in the Kingdom and its effects on political, social, and educational life, in addition to analyzing the implications of the religious phenomenon on political institutions and structures in Saudi Arabia and highlighting the role and importance of political reforms on the position of religion in the Saudi political system and educational curricula.

Research's focus is on the role of the religious factor in the construction of the political system. Following approaches were used: The historical approach that shows the importance of this approach when studying the historical angle of the establishment of the Saudi political system; the descriptive and analytical approach in describing the religious phenomenon in the political system at the moment of establishment and its effects on the educational institution; and the analysis of the employment of religion in the emergence of the political system.

The study reached conclusions and analyses to explain the position held by religion in various political and social aspects, taking into account the influences on the educational institution and the transformations that the Saudi political system has undergone.

Keywords:

Saudi Arabia, education, religion, political system