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Role of religion in global conflict essay
Religion and war
Religions effect on wars
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In discussions of the world would be a more peaceful place without religions, one controversial issue has been placing blame on one 's own religion when wars or conflict ending in violence has occurred. The question is asked. Does religion play a role in the violence going on around the world? On the one hand, many people may agree with this belief and argues that religion in a way always has played a role in the amount of violence in our society. On the other hand, the public contends that as humans we know what were are doing and our religion has nothing to do with the violence that we create. Others even maintain that we use religion as an excuse or as an answer to why we created so much violence. My own view on this topic is taking away that the wars and violence are simply done by human nature to want to kill. and we just use religion as an excuse or a reason to cover up the truth. The authors Greg Austin, Todd Kranock and Thom Oommen of God & War: Religious War Audit would agree that religion does not affect the peace in the world. they do not believe wars are caused by religion but simply the wars we come to see as being caused by religion are simply “wars of nationalism, liberation of territory or self-defense.” i will agree that some of the wars that have occurred in history aren 't related to religion but Greg, Todd and Thom is mistaken because they overlook recent events that have taken place in the world. for example 9/11. the terrorist attacks did not occur on self-defense or liberation of territory. those acts were brought on by their own religious beliefs in the Koran. the Koran was essentially a rule book on removing the enemy from this world with a different religious view “and fight with them until there is no more fitna and religion is all for allah.” (Qur 'an 8:39) their religious beliefs are build on killing anyone who doesn 't believe in their god. without muslims belief in religion would 9/11 never had happen? some still disagree and believe 9/11 happened for political reason/ though i concede that, that may be a possibility and a supporting cover up, i still insist that religion caused those
In his essay, Rodriguez believes that the diplomatic affairs we see on the evening news are merely being disguised as a religious war. The fight over oil or land when in reality it is the fight between whose side God is on, the attacks under the control of Al Qaeda when perhaps it’s the greed for power or world domination. According to Richard, these religious wars are allowing terrorism to become prevalent; often times within the same culture (147).
Generally, war results from arguments between nations over things like land, power, money, or religion. War over religion contradicts religion itself. In the passage titled “On War”, James Boswell states, “That amiable religion which “proclaims peace on earth,” hath not as yet made war to cease.” If religion proclaims peace on earth, then war goes against those morals.
Religion is a part of society that is so closely bound to the rest of one’s life it becomes hard to distinguish what part of religion is actually being portrayed through themselves, or what is being portrayed through their culture and the rest of their society. In Holy Terrors, Bruce Lincoln states that religion is used as a justifiable mean of supporting violence and war throughout time (Lincoln 2). This becomes truly visible in times such as the practice of Jihad, the Reformation, and 9/11. The purpose of this essay is to show that as long as religion is bound to a political and cultural aspect of a community, religious war and destruction will always occur throughout the world. A historical methodology will be deployed in order to gain
There have been some religions (ones such as Islam and Christianity) that could have once defended war in a time where defense of their own was all that mattered; however, there are other religions (ones such as Taoism and Buddhism) that have chastised and disapproved the very idea of war at all accounts possible. This is because each different view on war by any religion matters on the type of beliefs and rules it follow, and it these various religious views on war I have come across through the documents given that I will discuss throughout this essay:
Religion has always played a major role in the development of human society. This is the main reason why it has so often been used for unjust purposes. The concept of war is in complete opposition to what Islam and Christianity teach their followers. Still, by different means, religion was and is often brought into play to cater for the interests of powerful people.
Abolishing War? An appeal to Christian Leaders and Theologians is on the pro side of the abolishing war argument. The document argues that we need to find a non-violent alternative to war. It uses the “teaching of Jesus Christ which summons Christians to renounce war and to seek with the wider and religious and human communities to develop alternatives to protect the innocent, to restrain, to restrain aggressors and to overcome injustice”. This specific article
Religion, past and present, is responsible for the most heinous atrocities and wars known to man. But is God to blame? And if not, how can he allow such crimes in his name exist without divine intervention? God/gods in every religion inspire peace and tolerance. Contrary to this, almost no one remains at peace or is tolerant when it comes to religion. Questioning God is one of the first things people do when horrendous things happen; they may be wars, evil of man, acts of nature, famine, disease, etc. the list goes on. Philosophers have theorized his motives and his role in things.
What has caused the most war, pain, and strife in the world? Religion. What has taught people to be kind, to love, to help one another? Religion. It has cowed many into worship and coaxed many into prayer. For some their entire world and existence is based on the principle that religion shall determine their next life, or lives, whether that be the afterlife or the next life on earth. That principle, in positive instances, has lead many into a life free of conflict, free of poor decisions, and free of unjust actions against others. In negative instances, it has been used as a basis for determining who is fit to live or to control entire populations of people. Besides these there are millions of examples of how religion has affected lives and how people view religion.
Every state, culture, and society in the world has some form of religion. The most popular religions in the world today are Christianity, Buddhism, and the Muslim religions. Members of every religion follow some form of philosophy or ideology that shape their thinking and behaviors. One common thing about the existing religions is the presence of a supreme being. People misinterpret existing religious ideologies serving their personal interests that at times turn out to cause war. Religious ideologies brainwash populations who end up acting violently in different deviant forms (Richardson, 518). Religions use specific ideologies to make people living in a society violent to peaceful members who may fight back in self-defense.
Religion can be viewed from many different perspectives. People throughout the world hold different religious values. One person’s religious value will not match the religious values of another person. Globalization as a whole has affected the way we view the different religions and our feelings towards them; it has moved towards a more symbolic representation of ideologies. Many have come to believe that the west is more superior to others. Martha Crenshaw argues that globalization is a key driver of terrorism because there is a comparison between countries having less access to means of production and others having more access. Furthermore, most religions go against each other’s beliefs and as for Islam; they have neglected the ideologies of the west. In order to understand how religious values are interconnected is through language games; we think in certain ways because of issues of power.
Most importantly, the fact that religions effects on society can be so broad, really says more about human psychology than it does about religion. As quoted by David Hart,” Religious conviction often provides the sole compelling reason for refusing to kill. Or for seeking peace. the truth is that religion and irreligion are cultural variables but killing is a human constant”.
Religion has made people blind, dumb and deaf to the reality. They have faith without reasoning which is blind. On the contrary, it has often made people to become bigots and fanatics. Bigotry and fanaticism have led to persecution, inhuman treatment and misery in the past.
Religion is the basis of belief for humans, it is a belief that there is a higher being that watches over us guiding us, a belief that there is life after death and if we follow these beliefs we shall enter heaven the most beautiful place. However religion has also played a role in wars, religious conflicts in Ireland (Protestants and Catholics). Israelis and Arabs (Holy Land) and the Holy Crusades of the eleventh century (recapturing the Holy Land).
Most religions specify that violence is not allowed and yet extremists will cause major destruction in the name of their God. However, some people are too quick to blame religion on terrorism (Winchester, 2). In actuality, it is the nature of human beings to prove that their way is right, there way of doing that is using fear and destruction (Winchester, 3). It is not religion that causes the terr...
Thacker, Justin. Does religion cause war? UCCF: The Christian Unions, Registered Charity number 306137, 9 January 2009. Web. 15 April 2012.