Bringing Peace Among Religious Groups

Why are some willing to commit acts of atrocity in the name of God?  Because they believe that other religions are wrong and their followers do not deserve to be treated with decency and respect.  Some extremists may believe that their God justifies or requires violence towards non-believers.  In response, several atheists have proposed to do away with religion because of the bad acts of extremists.  But this solution is impracticable given the importance of religion to human psychology. 

It is true that many acts of violence and savagery have occurred in the name of God.  However, it is God’s importance in the lives of virtually every human being that makes religion important.  A belief in God is a fundamental belief of human beings, as important as water, food, and sunlight.  God is part of one’s identity.  Religion places its adherents in a community where most remain for the rest of their lives.  When another person worships God in a different way, it feels like a negation of what one holds to be true and like a threat to one’s continuity.  In the extreme, it leads to the belief that followers of different religions do not belong in the same room together and are not entitled to equal opportunity to practice their faith.  

It is because of how important God is to every life that religious violence exists and continues.  For peace to have a chance, human beings must hold the role that religion plays in high regard while not ostracizing or harming adherents of other religions.  Natural tendencies aside, more is at work in present day religious extremism.

Those who profit from war exploit the religious loyalties of passionate individuals or those without a supportive community to keep some parts of the world in near constant warfare.  They use the historical antagonism between some religious communities to sell arms thereby making peace unlikely.  People can put aside their religious differences when they are not inflamed by the greedy motives of those hoping to sell weapons to both sides.

Humanity must move towards an understanding of what God means to believers in other faiths in order to reach lasting peace.  There must be consensus that other religions deserve respect.  No religious group can let antagonism dictate the community’s consciousness.  Every group must control those who want war or who treat violence as a profit-making opportunity.  Done correctly, the belief in God makes us a part of a global community and is not cause for sectarian violence.

Share your theory of how to bring peace with other religions with scott@theorism.org.