Religion and Conflicts Across the World Essay Example

A connection has been established between religion and conflicts across the world. The role played by religion in developing international relationships with regards to conflicts and peacebuilding is widely acknowledged but disputed by diverse global population. The historical events relating conflicts to religion such as the crusader's war, the thirty years of war between Catholics and Protestants, the French Wars of Religion, the Boston bombing among other human injustices have been experienced over the years (Savigny).

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On the contrary, religion has also been used to promote unity across the world among different states. The short-lived peace agreement of 1972 of Sudan was mediated by religious leaders comprising of the World Council of Churches along with All Africa Conference of Churches (Jok). In Mozambique, Sant'Egido, the Rome-based community mediated for the end of the civil war in 1992. This paper takes a keen look at the relationship between religion and conflict across the world with respect to the promotion of conflict and promoting peace.

Religion serves a significant role in bringing society together. The mass of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Jewish among many other religions in the world is connected under the belief of the existence of a supreme power that they all believe in. Religion has been used as a binding factor among people with the same faith which has significantly impacted on the promotion of peace in the people, states and continents. Religion promotes peace, keep people together, provide a common belief and advocate against violence. Muslims adhere to the teachings of the Quran which provide bonding, unity, peace and provide a sense of belonging to the believers. The unity portrayed in religion aids in the promotion of peace.

Buddhism is based on peace and advocates for non-violence. Therefore, the Buddhist focus on bringing people together and maintaining peace across humanity. In this case, it can be argued that Buddhists avoid violence and are agents of peace in society.

Christian, on the other hand, has a strong faith in the Supreme God. They believe in a supreme power that they serve and tend to live a holy life which is against conflicts and divisions. Christians advocate for peace and justice as well as a global fellowship. The political affiliation to Christian religious institutions is rebuked which eliminates the influence of political forces in the operation of Christian religious activities. Churches advocate for peace by providing asylum to the affected members of the society in the event of disasters and violence (Kurtz). Christians come together to confront social injustices presented in the society.

It is evident that religion has been linked to some of the conflicts across the world. Some religions have been implicated in committing crimes in different countries in the world. Some countries embrace multiple religions. However, conflicts among the religious groups in these countries have led to wars and many insecurities. These wars and conflicts increase tension and suspicion among followers of individual religions. Coexistence is also impacted on with political factors and economic reasons also associated with frequent conflict among the religions. As pointed out in the debate, human desire, power, and religion are used in igniting war in diverse global populations. Political leaders and religious leaders use religion as an avenue for justifying their motives and actions. However, religion is only used to gain acceptance and support of a particular religion for political gains. Religious differences in the public sparsely promoted the civil war in Syria (Basedau, Pfeiffer and Vullers 522). The fear in the minority for persecution resulted in support of the president in revolt against the majority of Muslim Sunni. The Christians along with Alawites united in support of the president against the large portion of the public which is covered by the Sunni Muslims in the country. This illustrates the affiliation of religious fronts with political units which have caused more divisions among people in similar states. As illustrated in the debate, politics contribute to related religious conflicts in the society which can be affirmed by the case of Syria.

Religious violence was detected in the prosecution of the Iraqi Christian Iraqis after the fall of Saddam Hussein. The prosecution of the Christians indicates the role played by the religious differences in the Iraqi population which was affiliated to the fall of Saddam. The fight of the Muslims in Sri Lanka by the Buddhist in 2014 is a significant concern in the impact of religion in the acceleration of societal violence. Buddhists are considered the most peaceful people. However, the protests calling for the deportation of Muslims in the country signified the disparities in attaining religious unity in multireligious states. Muslims in Sri Lanka were exposed to religious discrimination. Some of the Buddhist monks initiated the fight against Muslims on the grounds of religion regardless of the government efforts to advocate for freedom of worship in the country.

Similarly, the conflict between is Israel and Palestine are linked the struggle for the religious dominance in the region. The Boston bombing is one of the latest terrorist activities related to the perceived defense of Islam against the attack of the US. However, the concerning issue is how the bombing protects a particular religion. This can be argued among the moral injustices exposed to society. These facts point out the role of religion in the increased global violence. What seems to be a uniting factor across many societies is used as a dividing element and a reason for global conflict and violence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, society seems to rely heavily on religion as a uniting factor. The religion is implicated as a source of unity, peace promotion, creating a community and key in promoting peace. However, religion has also over time been linked to conflict and violence across the world with wars and displacement of people experienced in countries such as Syria, China, Eritrea, Sri Lanka among other countries. The religious violence in the can be cited in cases of the Syrian war, Israel and Palestine conflict as well as the Boston bombing. Therefore, despite the role played by religion in bringing communities and the global population together, some issues need to be addressed in different parts of the world to achieve the role of religion as a peace-promoting channel. The diversity in religion across the world should be embraced and appreciated without fear and suspicion. Religion should connect the spirituality of independent religion and connect the diverse religions in the world. As identified in the video, Buddhism is considered a peaceful and non-violent religion. However, differences have been noted among the Buddhists and Muslims in some countries which has coupled a fight and displacement of people based on their religion. This establishes a strong connection between religion and conflict. It is imperative that religion contributes to world conflicts.

Works Cited

Basedau, Matthias, Birte Pfeiffer, and Johannes Vullers. "Bad religion? Religion, collective action, and the onset of armed conflict in developing countries." Journal of Conflict Resolution60.2 (2016): 226-255.

Jok, Jok Madut. Sudan: Race, religion, and violence. Oneworld Publications, 2015.

Kurtz, Lester R. "Rethinking Religion and Violence." The Warrior and the Pacifist. Routledge, 2018. 21-30.

Savigny, Heather. Media, Religion and Conflict. Routledge, 2016.