How is it that religions – which are supposed to defend peace, love and harmony – are so often associated with intolerance and violent aggression? Social scientists are divided on this issue. Scholars like William Cavanaugh argue that even when extremists use theological texts to justify their actions, ”religious” violence is not at all religious – but rather a perversion of fundamental doctrines. Others, such as Richard Dawkins, believe that because religions fuel certainties and sanctify martyrdom, they are often a major cause of conflict. Meanwhile, Timothy Sisk argues that hierarchical religious traditions (such as Shi`ism) and non-hierarchical traditions (such as Buddhism) may both be likely to interpret the canon to justify or even justify violent actions. Religious violence is experiencing a revival. Over the past decade, there has been a sharp increase in violent sectarian or religious tensions. These range from Islamic extremists leading global jihad and power struggles between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Middle East, to the persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar, to outbreaks of violence between Christians and Muslims across Africa. According to Pew, in 2018, more than a quarter of the world`s countries experienced a high incidence of hostilities motivated by religious hatred, religiously-related mob violence, terrorism, and harassment of women for violating religious codes. Well, let`s turn the question around. Should a lesbian graphic designer or printer be forced to create a flyer for the gathering of a religious group against the same marriage? With few notable exceptions, interfaith efforts to prevent violence and promote peace suffer from a credibility problem.
One reason for this is that religious groups often adopt a peacebuilding approach based on the ”thousand flowery flowers” peacebuilding approach – multiple activities without strong evidence of their effectiveness. According to Catherine Osborn, interfaith institutions can be effective, but success often depends on the extent to which religious leaders can work with the ”internal police” of their communities to calm hotheads and prevent escalation. Ultimately, religious groups must maintain themselves at the highest level. This requires at least not to cause damage. It also means being responsible for strategies that work and those that don`t. The clinics, through their ohio ACLU attorneys, have asked the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas for a second stay, arguing that the new law imposes a funeral ritual on every patient, regardless of religious or spiritual belief. Should florists, photographers and bakers be forced to offer their services to gay weddings and celebrations that violate their religious beliefs? In times of turbulence and uncertainty, interreligious action can be an important antidote to religious violence. Religious communities can and do remember the fundamental principles of our common humanity. Although not exclusively reserved for faith groups, the conscious dissemination of values such as empathy, compassion, forgiveness and altruism is needed more than ever. Persistent calls for patience, tolerance, understanding, personal dialogue and reconciliation are more important than ever in the face of today`s polarizing spiral and the dangerous anonymity of social media. In addition, it harms our communities to force individuals and faith-based organizations to choose between living their religious beliefs or serving their neighbors.
Domestically, the issue of religious freedom played out in two high-profile Supreme Court cases that ruled that two conservative Christian-owned companies – Hobby Lobby and Conestoga – could raise religious objections to the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act; the other, who narrowly protected a Colorado baker from having to host a gay couple who asked him to provide them with a cake for their wedding. Finally, religious groups and the interfaith community could usefully become more proactive in peacemaking. This requires leaving the safe zone of like-minded religious organizations and becoming more involved in international organizations and the business world. Religious leaders should also better manage new technologies, including social media, and find ways to promote positive values online and offline. And successful cases of interfaith cooperation – including through powerful networks such as Religion for Peace – need to be better commercialized. Because signals and symbols of collective action across religious boundaries are needed more than ever in our disordered and fragmented world. The right to practice the faith and equal treatment has been severely challenged around the world over the past decade, as Myanmar`s Muslim minority has been subjected to atrocities committed by the Rohingya and forced into refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh, and China`s Uighurs have been forced to re-educate themselves in re-education centres. In India, the election of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 continues to fuel fears of discrimination against religious minorities.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram and the islamic state splinter group in the West African province have placed the country on the U.S. watch list for religious freedom, with ongoing violence against Christians and Muslims in the country. The decade ended with the execution of 11 Christians in a Christmas video and the beheading of a bridal feast. Ultimately, everyone enjoys religious freedom. A 2012 report from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life showed that the pew group calls ”nones” — ”people who identify as atheists or agnostics, as well as those who say their religion is `nothing special,`” Pew said — had gone from just over 15 percent to just under 20 percent of all adults in the United States. A subsequent 2015 study found that it was the fastest growing religious group in the United States. Today, according to the Public Religion Research Institute, more than a quarter of the country (26%) falls into this unaffiliated category. The rapid rise of the sector most obvious among white millennials is seen as huge for the growth of Christian churches and the political concerns of Americans as a whole.
For millennia, every religious tradition has been the victim of violence or has sanctioned it. Think of St. Augustine and St. Aquinas, who laid the foundation for the doctrine of ”just war” in self-defense to prevent a tyrant from attacking and punishing guilty enemies. Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and others have long called for violence in the name of religion. In some cases, such as when the state and religion are closely linked, mass violence can occur. Unfortunately, the risk of sectarian violence is unlikely to disappear: more than 84% of the world`s population identifies with a religious group. A federal judge in Texas has issued an injunction preventing the Navy from taking action against 35 sailors for refusing to comply with a COVID-19 vaccination order on religious grounds. Religious leaders are often criticized for not doing enough to curb religious violence.
By not publicly condemning all acts of extremism, it is assumed that entire religious communities are somehow complicit. It`s not fair. In fact, there are millions of believers who are actively engaged in helping the poor and marginalized and promoting post-war reconciliation. They can be mobilized through their churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, or work through international humanitarian organizations and missions abroad. While they are regularly accused of fanning the flames of sectarian violence, religious leaders often try to do the opposite, including negotiating peace agreements and promoting nonviolence. In this September 1, 2017 file photo, religious leaders pray with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington after signing a proclamation for a national day of prayer on September 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, file) And that`s why the answer to this next question is very important. Does religious freedom mean that religious people are granted special rights? Did you know that about 350,000 religious communities run schools, pregnancy centers, soup kitchens, addiction programs, homeless shelters, and adoption agencies? The effort to suppress religious freedom is not just an attack on individual freedom and human dignity, but on the foundation that made America strong. There are many other bakers who offer cakes for same-sex weddings, and there are other graphic designers that a religious group can hire. Moreover, in neither example of a person or group, a service is denied a service based on who it is – this is because of the specific service it requests. In these cases, there is no compelling interest for the government to intervene. Nearly 250 years later, religious freedom is one of the most pressing issues in American culture today.
The rise of religious violence is global and affects virtually all religious groups. A 2018 report by the Minority Rights Group shows that massacres and other atrocities are on the rise in countries that are both affected and unaffected by war. While bloody encounters were recorded in more than 50 countries, most of the fatal incidents reported by minorities were concentrated in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Hostilities against Muslims and Jews have also increased throughout Europe, as have threats against Hindus in more than 18 countries. To make matters worse, 55 of the world`s 198 countries have imposed increased restrictions on religions, including Egypt, Russia, India, Indonesia and Turkey. Here`s how it applies to the most common charge in religious freedom cases today – accusations of discrimination. ”This demographic and cultural sorting means that our party conflicts are increasingly determined not only by political disagreements, but by entire worldviews rooted in religious, racial, and generational values and identities,” writes Robert P. .