While in their earlier stages with smaller populations, it may have been appropriate for the community to have one multi-purpose' leader, it has become necessary to separate the fields of politics and faith as religious communities rapidly expanded and grew in power. This separation of church (in this context referring to any religious institution) and state has, over time resulted in gradual diminishing of the authority of both the Roman Catholic Church and the Sunni Caliphate. Stemming from corruption of authority, historical developments, and gradual deviation from founding principals, the decline of both of these institutions is seen in today's contexts as modernization', but whether or not this phenomenon is moving society in a positive direction has yet to be …show more content…
In the case of Islam, Muhammad, according to the Encyclopedia of Religion, was the "governor of the Ummah, an arbitrator of disputes within it, commander of military its forces, and its principal strategist." His death in 632 CE left the Ummah in a situation it had never envisioned, and the loss of their chief seemed to present the insurmountable problem in the near future as well as leadership in the long term. Quickly, those closest to Muhammad elected his closest friend and one of the earliest Muslims, Abu Bakr, as his successor, giving him the title of Caliph. For thirty years thereafter, the Islamic community was headed by four successive men known as the Rashidun, or rightly guided' leaders, all of whom were close companions of the Prophet and learned in Islamic traditions. After the death of the fourth Caliph, Ali, the title of the Prophet's successor was earned by a man named Mu'awiah, who established the Umayyad Dynasty and introduced the precedent of hereditary leadership, nominating his son as his successor. It was just before this that the Sunni Muslim community declared the necessity to officially separate the leadership of the Ummah in areas of religion and politics