Religious violence

Religious violence is a term that encompasses the use of force by members of a religion to enforce their worldview upon those whose beliefs differ from their own or to use religious propaganda to further a social or political agenda. It is a consequence of religious intolerance and in extreme instances can lead to a religious war . In most instances, serious religious violence is perpetrated by individuals whose zeal and conviction exceed that of an average member of the religion in question, although milder forms, such as verbal abuse or ostracism, can be habitually practiced by larger communities. The range of religious violence is varied, and in its more serious forms it often involves illegal means (although in some instances, the use of religious violence can be sanctioned and even undertaken by the government), such as physical abuse and vandalism, and in more extreme cases, torture or murder. The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center are an extreme example of religious violence. It's worth noting that even though in many instances religion is used to justify violent behavior, the immediate motivations of the individuals involved may not be religious as such and the overall goals of such behavior may be cultural, personal or even economical. An example of this is the organized violence directed against black people during the American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) - the Ku Klux Klan made a strong point of being a Christian organization and often used this to justify its active stance against desegregation and racial integration , but despite this, the Klan's actions were motivated more by racism and intolerance than religious beliefs. Contrast with sectarian violence , which is conflict between different sects of one religion. v t e

The Crusades were a series of a military campaigns fought mainly between Christian Europe and Muslims . Shown here is a battle scene from the First Crusade . They were inspired at the jihad of the Islam civilization. Religious violence and extremism (also called communal violence ) is a term that covers all phenomena where religion , in any of its forms, is either the subject or object of individual or collective violent behaviour. Concretely, it covers both violence by religiously motivated individuals or religious institutions of any kind, of the same religion, a different sect, or secular targets. The other case is of violence of any kind against objects that are explicitly religious (such as religious institutions, the persecution of people on the basis of their religion, religious buildings or sites). Religious violence, like all violence, is an inherently cultural process whose meanings are context-dependent. Religious violence often tends to place great emphasis on the symbolic aspect of the act. Religious violence is primarily the domain of the violent "actor", which may be distinguished between individual and collective forms of violence. (2000) The Deadly Ethnic Riot. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion . 43 .

The Crusades were a series of a military campaigns fought mainly between Christian Europe and Muslims . Shown here is a battle scene from the First Crusade . Religious violence is a term that covers phenomena where religion is either the subject or object of violent behavior . Religious violence is, specifically, violence that is motivated by or in reaction to religious precepts, texts, or doctrines. This includes violence against religious institutions, people, objects, or when the violence is motivated to some degree by some religious aspect of the target or precept of the attacker. Religious violence does not refer exclusively to acts committed by religious groups, but also includes acts committed by secular groups against religious groups. Religious violence, like all violence, is an inherently cultural process whose meanings are context-dependent. Religious violence often tends to place great emphasis on the symbolic aspect of the act. Religious violence is primarily the domain of the violent "actor", which may be distinguished between individual and collective forms of violence. Overall, religious violence is perpetrated for a wide variety of ideological reasons and is generally only one of the contributing social and political factors that leads to unrest. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion . 43 (3).

Violence practiced in the name of religion The Crusades were a series of military campaigns fought mainly between Roman Catholic Europe and Muslims . Depicted here is the Siege of Antioch from the First Crusade . sidebar Religious violence covers phenomena in which religion is either the subject or the object of violent behavior . All the religions of the world contain narratives, symbols, and metaphors of violence and war . Religious violence is violence that is motivated by, or in reaction to, religious precepts, texts, or the doctrines of a target or an attacker. It includes violence against religious institutions, people, objects, or events. Religious violence does not exclusively include acts which are committed by religious groups, instead, it includes acts which are committed against religious groups. "Violence" is a very broad concept which is difficult to define because it is used against both human and non-human objects. Furthermore, the term can denote a wide variety of experiences such as blood shedding, physical harm, forcing against personal freedom, passionate conduct or language, or emotions such as fury and passion. " Religion " is a complex modern Western concept. Though there is no scholarly consensus over what a religion is, today, religion is generally considered an abstraction which entails beliefs, doctrines, and sacred places. The link between religious belief and behavior is problematic. Decades of anthropological, sociological, and psychological research have all proven the falsehood of the assumption that behaviors directly follow from religious beliefs and values because people's religious ideas are fragmented, loosely connected, and context-dependent just like all other domains of culture and life. In general, religions, ethical systems, and societies rarely promote violence as an end in itself since violence is universally undesirable. At the same time, there is a universal tension between the general desire to avoid violence and the acceptance of justifiable uses of violence to prevent a "greater evil" that permeates all cultures. Religious violence, like all forms of violence, is a cultural process which is context-dependent and very complex. Oversimplifications of "religion" and "violence" often lead to misguided understandings of causes for why some people commit acts of violence and why most people never commit such acts in the first place. Violence is perpetrated for a wide variety of ideological reasons and religion is generally only one of many contributing social and political factors that can lead to unrest. Studies of supposed cases of religious violence often conclude that violence is strongly driven by ethnic animosities rather than by religious worldviews. Due to the complex nature of religion and violence and the complex relationship which exists between them, it is normally unclear if religion is a significant cause of violence. Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion (2nd ed.). In Oppy, Graham (ed.). A Companion to Atheism and Philosophy (First ed.). Peacemaking and the Challenge of Violence in World Religions .

Violence practiced in the name of religion sidebar Not to be confused with Religious persecution . Religious violence covers phenomena in which religion is either the target or perpetrator of violent behavior . All the religions of the world contain narratives, symbols, and metaphors of violence and war and also nonviolence and peacemaking. Religious violence is violence that is motivated by, or in reaction to, religious precepts, texts, or the doctrines of a target or an attacker. It includes violence against religious institutions , people, objects, or events. Religious violence includes both acts which are committed by religious groups and acts which are committed against religious groups. The term “religious violence” has proven difficult to define, however. Violence is a very broad concept, because it is used against both human and non-human entities. Furthermore, violence can have a wide variety of expressions, from blood shedding and physical harm to violation of personal freedoms , passionate conduct or language, or emotional outbursts like fury or passion. Adding to the difficulty, religion is a complex and modern Western concept, one whose definition still has no scholarly consensus. Religious violence, like all forms of violence, is a cultural process which is context-dependent and highly complex. Thus, oversimplifications of religion and violence often lead to misguided understandings of the causes for acts of violence, as well as oversight of their rarity. Violence is perpetrated for a wide variety of ideological reasons, and religion is generally only one of many contributing social and political factors that may foment it. Historical circumstances in conflicts often are not linear, but socially and politically complex. Due to the complex nature of religion, violence, and the relationship between them, it is often difficult to discern whether religion is a significant cause of violence from all other factors. Indeed, the link between religious belief and behavior is not linear. Decades of anthropological , sociological , and psychological research have all concluded that behaviors do not directly follow from religious beliefs and values because people's religious ideas tend to be fragmented, loosely connected, and context-dependent, just like other domains of culture and life. Religions, ethical systems , and societies rarely promote violence as an end in of itself. At the same time, there is often tension between a desire to avoid violence and the acceptance of justifiable uses of violence to prevent a perceived greater evil that permeates a culture. Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion (2nd ed.). Peacemaking and the Challenge of Violence in World Religions . Violence and Religion: Cross-cultural Opinions and Consequences . In Oppy, Graham (ed.). A Companion to Atheism and Philosophy (First ed.). Before Religion: A History of a Modern Concept . Discourse on Civility and Barbarity . Peacemaking and the Challenge of Violence in World Religions .