Religion = Violence ?

Religion means many things to many different people. It gives us a set of ways to live our lives. It gives us a reason to why we exist. It gives us a sense of belonging. It gives us something to believe in. Religion is supposed to bring us together. However, when different religions are brought into close contact with each other conflict and violence sometimes erupts. As Alan Wolfe states in The Transformation of American Religion “ Religion, in short, is valued because it opens a window on the sacred, a realm of life that we treat, in the words of Peter L. Berger, ‘as ‘sticking out’ from the normal routines of everyday life, as something extraordinary and potentially dangerous’” (Wolfe 245).

Different religions give us different things to believe in, and sometimes when these different beliefs come into contact with each other violence erupts. This isn’t because religion tells us to be violent towards other different religions. Religion does not tell us to fight and kill those that don’t believe in the same things we do. People sometimes take religion in this way and some of the biggest conflicts in history were based off of these religious conflicts (such as the holocaust). Some people tend to feel so strongly about their religion that when they see other people who follow some other religion that conflicts with theirs, they feel the need to do something about it. Sometimes this might just be trying to convert them to your religion or it can be praying for their soul. Other times, a small fight could start which can then grow into a large war between the two religions.

Even though religions are able to coexist in many parts of the world, violence still erupts to this day between different religions across the world. This video shows how in Orissa, Hindu believers attacked Christian homes and churches.