Political leadership: An Important determination to Politicize the state religion in Pakistan

Religion has been an important driving force behind the establishment of the Pakistan and many efforts have been made before and after partition to ensure the promulgation and practice the ideology of Islam in Pakistan. However, religion has been politicized and exploited by the multiple forces and political leadership is an important factor that trigger towards politicization of the religion. The current study investigates that how political leaders and elites use and exploits the religion for their self-centered political gains. The current study is based upon quantitative survey of university students from the relevant departments. A sample size of 835 students was selected through multistage sampling technique. Multiple linear regression Model was applied to determine the nature and strength of the relationship between the variables. Results determines that political leadership is an important determination to politicization of the state religion in Pakistan. Average intensity of Politicization of Religion increased by 0.346 in standardized terms; with one level standardized increase in Political Leadership. Keywords: Religion, Politics, Politicization of the Religion, Regression, Political Leadership