Religion for peace

Sep 12, 2010 Editorial

Most would not quarrel with the notion that all societies, if they are to remain viable, must ultimately be moral communities; or that in our long journey from living in caves, religion has proven to be the most effective institution for upholding morality. The most recent month-long period of fasting by our Muslim community to remind us all of the need for empathy with our poor and powerless exemplifies that thrust.
The events surrounding the 9/11 event in the US and the recent threats to burn copies of the Koran, however, reveal that religion, especially in its organised forms, can also have a dark underside.
All religions have their dogmas, or articles of belief, that followers must accept without question. This can lead to inflexibility and intolerance in the face of other beliefs. After all, if it is the word of God, how can one compromise it? Scripture and dogma are also often vague and open to interpretation.
Therefore, conflict can arise over whose interpretation is the correct one: the winner generally is the interpretation that attracts the most followers. However, those followers must also be motivated to action. Although, almost invariably, the majority of any faith hold moderate views, they are often more complacent, whereas extremists are motivated to bring their interpretation of God’s will to fruition.
Religious extremists invariably stoke conflicts since they tend to take a Manichean view of the world. If the world is a struggle between good and evil – with no in-between – it is hard to justify compromise. Any sign of moderation can be decried as selling out, more importantly, of abandoning God’s will. Most religious conflicts are within the flocks.
Many religions also have significant strains of proselytisation, which can lead to conflict. Believers are called upon to spread the word of God and increase the numbers of the flock. For example, the effort to impose Christianity on subject peoples was an important part of the conflict surrounding European colonisation. Similarly, a group may seek to deny other religions the opportunity to practice their faith. In part, this is out of a desire to minimise beliefs the dominant group feels to be inferior or dangerous
Nowadays, religious fundamentalists are primarily driven by displeasure with modernity. Motivated by the marginalisation of religion in modern society, they act to restore faith to a central place. There is a need for purification of the religion in the eyes of fundamentalists. Recently, cultural globalisation has in part become shorthand for this trend.
The spread of Western materialism is often blamed for increases in gambling, alcoholism, and loose morals in general. The liberal underpinning of Western culture is also threatening to tradition in prioritising the individual over the group, and by questioning the appropriate role for women in society.
Religious nationalists can also produce extremist sentiments. Religious nationalists tend to view their religious traditions as so closely tied to their nation or their land that any threat to one of these is a threat to one’s existence. Therefore, religious nationalists respond to threats to the religion by seeking a political entity in which their faith is privileged at the expense of others.
In these contexts, it is also likely that religious symbols will come to be used to forward ethnic or nationalist causes. This has been the case for Catholics in Northern Ireland and the Serbian Orthodox church in Milosevic’s Yugoslavia.
While some may believe that religion is inherently conflictual, but this is not necessarily so. Those in charge of religion have to accept that there are many paths to the one ocean of God’s love. Interfaith dialogue would be beneficial at all levels of religious hierarchies and across all segments of religious communities.
Where silence and misunderstanding are all too common, learning about other religions would be a powerful step forward. Being educated about other religions does not mean conversion but may facilitate understanding and respect for other faiths. Communicating in a spirit of humility and engaging in self-criticism would also be helpful.

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Religion for peace

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