Religion, Peace and Conflict

Religion and Conflict

In this course, Professor Lee Marsden (University of East Anglia) explores the relationship between religion and conflict. In the first module, we challenge simplistic arguments that religion is either inherently violent or inherently peaceful. The second module looks at two theories on the effect of religion on conflict - Rene Girard’s view of religion as something which limits violence, and Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilisations” thesis. In the third module, we consider the process of secularisation and the place of religion in contemporary societies. The fourth module turns to liberation theologies - doctrines which emphasise support for the poor and marginalised as central to religious belief and practice. We conclude with a final module on conservative evangelicals in the US as an example of a religious group which is heavily involved in the political sphere and often associated with social conflict.

Religion, Peace and Conflict

In this module, we think about arguments that religion is either inherently violent or peaceful, and challenges to this simplistic binary. We focus on: (i) the common claim that most wars are caused by religion, and the extent to which this is supported by the historical record; (ii) key counters to this claim, such as that conflicts typically have multiple motivations, and that whilst religion may be used as a justification for war it is often not its underlying cause; (iii) the persecution of minority religious groups as a major form of violence involving religion, looking at examples in North Korea, Myanmar, Pakistan and elsewhere; (iv) the notion of religions of peace - that in all major religions there are elements which are opposed to violence, and that there are many examples of religious actors being important advocates against conflict.