Religion1
Religious conflict, needless to say, is presently a very pervasive feature of our international society, and is likely to remain so well into the 21st Century, unfortunately. Every now and then, people switch on their TVs and are greeted with news of religious violence: the Moslems fighting the Hindus in India and Indian-controlled Kashmir; the Christians and Moslems battling it out in Indonesia, the Philippines, Spain, the Sudan and Nigeria; the repression of the Buddhists, Falun Gong and other religious groups in communist China - to mention a few. As such, there is now an increasing number of people who think that religion is now much more than "the opium of the masses", that it is actually a destructive feature of the society. But is it?In spite of the above, we must not forget the immense positive role religion has played in our society, past and present. Religion has given people in this world hope and a future where there was aversion. It is worthwhile to notice that people are much more "into religion" in developing and underdeveloped countries than in advanced nations. These people, often in the throes of financial troubles, turn to religion as a source of fulfillment and sustenance. Also, the basic ideals of all reli
It is important to note that some of these conflicts have risen out of countries that used to be under dictators, or were communist. Again, we are apt to dismiss them as purely religious. These peoples have been oppressed for so long that even after the dictators are gone, they feel a need for more rights and more power and a true identity of their own, through their politicians. Thus, nationalism grows. But as they search for their own space, they come across each other. And in cases where each ethnic tribe has its own religion (which is common), the passions of nationalism could explode into gigantic proportions. This has been the case in post-Suharto Indonesia, whose nascent democracy has been undermined by separatist rebellions and fightings between Christians and Moslems. This is also true in the Philippines, the Balkans and Nigeria. Sometimes it a struggle over resources that eventually leads to religious violence. Most times the resource that is the subject of contention is land. For India and Pakistan, the subject of contention is Kashmir. And most of the conflict resides in the Indian-controlled Kashmir, because it just happens to be that India is Hindu, Pakistan is Moslem and the majority of people in Kashmir are Moslem. The Kashmiris on the Indian side, being Moslem, want to become part of Pakistan. Thus, a lot of fighting takes place in Indian-controlled Kashmir. For Israel and the Palestinians, the bone of contention is Jerusalem. The Jews were promised this land in their holy scriptures. Palestinians have lived there ever since the diaspora of the Jews in A.D. 70, and as they are Moslem, Jerusalem is one of the holy sites of their religion. Nationalism often has a heavy hand in the prolonged crisis in this case. Such conflicts never die down because no-one is ready to give concessions to the other. They fear that if they back down in any way they will look weak. Thus the conflict continues. In another model, politicians of the same religion gang up and form religious political parties, and there is destined to be big trouble if you have two or more of these in your country. A struggle for power between the two strongholds can lead to civil war, and it did in the Sudan. A similar situation exists in Northern Ireland, where the Protestant Ulste
Some common words found in the essay are:
Ottoman Empire, Falun Gong, Moslem Jerusalem, Balkans Nigeria, Hindu India's, Christians Moslems, Catholics Protestants, , Sharia Islamic, Hindus Buddhists, religious conflicts, religious violence, struggle power, indian-controlled kashmir, christians moslems, struggle power resources, people religion, politician running, apt dismiss, catholic neighborhoods, subject contention,
Approximate Word count = 1536
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
