“Religion is simply a tool to get people to commit violence.” Discuss.

Historical analysis presents a clear correlation between religion and violence. There are many conflicts, both past and present, where religion has played some part. The countless conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, the ongoing conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as the troubles in Northern Ireland – just to name a few. The best modern example is the Israel-Palestine conflict, where both sides claim that Palestine is their ‘Holy Land’[1]. This has caused thousands of deaths.

Historically, all of the major world religions have been involved in conflicts and violence[2]. Whilst each conflict would have had different reasons for its occurrence, there is one factor that keeps emerging – religion. Religion is by no means an intrinsic tool for violence, but it can certainly be manipulated to justify violence[3]. Take Christianity as an example. God in the Old Testament, was in a literal sense, brutally violent. There is no better example than the killing of the Egyptian firstborn sons during Passover[4] to illustrate this. If you take the literal approach to Biblical interpretation, God certainly isn’t this omnibenevolent supernatural entity that he is postulated to be. Fundamentalism is arguably intrinsically dangerous, because of the violent nature of religious scripture. However, this is not isolated to Christianity, this issue concerns Judaism and Islam too. Even the most significant event in Christianity is brutally violent – Jesus’ crucifixion[5].

The issue as to whether religion causes violence or not is one of the biggest moral issues debated about in this field of academia. This could be down to the increase in Islamic fundamentalism and the brutal events that have taken place, which are claimed to be in the name of ‘Allah’[6]. This has seen the increase in Islamophobia across the Western World and it has contributed to the rise of far-right political parties throughout Europe[7].

However, the debate involving religion and violence is intricate. It could be argued that most religious conflict is not down to a particular religion in itself, but those who oppose a particular religion or religion in general. The Holocaust illustrates this perfectly. Moreover, it is not just religious theology and ideology that causes problems. State-imposed atheism is responsible for millions of deaths. Pol Pot, Mao Zedong, Stalin and Tito treated people barbarically and they all opposed religious rationality and freedom[8]. In fact, one could argue that atheism could be equally dangerous, as atheists act without the fear of being judged by a supernatural entity.

There are many examples where religion has enabled peace and prosperity. Religious peace-making has been notably successful in South Sudan where Christian and Muslim leaders have worked to achieve reconciliation between Christians and Muslims[9]. Although some argue that religion acts as a conservative force, there are many examples where religion has enabled social change. For example, the Christian teaching of equality played a significant part in the American Civil Rights Movement[10]. Some religions even actively oppose violence such as Buddhism[11].

Whilst one may conclude that religion can be used as a tool to commit violence, it is not as simple as this. Religion like anything human construct, can be manipulated in a negative way, but it is certainly not as simple as saying ‘religion is simply a tool to get people to commit violence’.

Bibliography

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Caro, Jane, Doesn't religion cause most of the conflict in the world?(2013) <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/02/religion-wars-conflict> [accessed 27 April 2018].

Crabtree, Vexen, Religion, Violence, Crime and Mass Suicide(2009) <http://www.humanreligions.info/violence_and_crime.html> [accessed 26 April 2018].

Geering, Lloyd, Who Owns the Holy Land? (2002) <https://www.westarinstitute.org/resources/the-fourth-r/who-owns-the-holy-land-part-1/> [accessed 26 April 2018].

Hall, R. John, 'Conflict and violence - theoretical considerations ', Religion and Violence: Social Processes in Comparative Perspective, (2001), 1-35.

Iftikhar, Asif, Murder, Manslaughter and Terrorism -- All in the Name of Allah (1997) <http://www.islamicity.org/115/murder-manslaughter-and-terrorism-all-in-the-name-of-allah/> [accessed 27 April 2018].

Smock, R. David, 'Intrafaith and Interfaith Dialogue in Southern Sudan', Religious Contributions to Peacemaking: When Religion Brings Peace, Not War, , (2006), 1-52 (p. 25), in<https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/PWJan2006.pdf> [accessed 26 April 2018].

The Bible, The Tenth Plague—The Death of the Firstborn (2017) <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+11&version=GW> [accessed 26 April 2018].

Woodlock, Rachel, Doesn't religion cause most of the conflict in the world? (2013) <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/02/religion-wars-conflict> [accessed 28 April 2018].

[1] Lloyd Geering, Who Owns the Holy Land? (2002) <https://www.westarinstitute.org/resources/the-fourth-r/who-owns-the-holy-land-part-1/> [accessed 26 April 2018].

[2] Vexen Crabtree, Religion, Violence, Crime and Mass Suicide(2009) <http://www.humanreligions.info/violence_and_crime.html> [accessed 26 April 2018].

[3] John R. Hall, 'Conflict and violence - theoretical considerations ', Religion and Violence: Social Processes in Comparative Perspective, (2001), 1-35 (p. 4).

[4] The Bible, The Tenth Plague—The Death of the Firstborn (2017) <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+11&version=GW> [accessed 26 April 2018].

[5] Jane Caro, Doesn't religion cause most of the conflict in the world?(2013) <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/02/religion-wars-conflict> [accessed 27 April 2018].

[6] Asif Iftikhar, Murder, Manslaughter and Terrorism -- All in the Name of Allah (1997) <http://www.islamicity.org/115/murder-manslaughter-and-terrorism-all-in-the-name-of-allah/> [accessed 27 April 2018].

[7] Chris Allen, The Rise of Europe's Far Right and the Anti-Islam Tide (2016) <https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-chris-allen/europe-far-right_b_9110004.html> [accessed 28 April 2018].

[8] Rachel Woodlock, Doesn't religion cause most of the conflict in the world? (2013) <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/02/religion-wars-conflict> [accessed 28 April 2018].

[9] David R. Smock, 'Intrafaith and Interfaith Dialogue in Southern Sudan', Religious Contributions to Peacemaking: When Religion Brings Peace, Not War, , (2006), 1-52 (p. 25), in<https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/PWJan2006.pdf> [accessed 26 April 2018].

[10] Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, 'The Long Civil Rights Movement and the Political Uses of the Past', Journal of American History, 91.4, (2005), 1233–1263.

[11]Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Buddhism on Peace and Violence (2018) <https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/buddhism-on-peace-and-violence> [accessed 26 April 2018].