Conflicts with Religious Tenets, Free Essay for Students

The casual glance at the world affairs at the dawn of the twenty-first century suggests that religion is at the center of tremendous strife across the world. It is undeniable that religion is a contentious issue. Where the external salvation is at stake, compromise can be most difficult or even be perceived as sin. However, it is also critical to recognize that the religion is a vital issue as it forms central aspects of the identity of many individuals. As a primary motivation of the ethnoreligious nationalist, conflict with the religious tenets has been a significant source of the contradictions and dilemma among many societies across the world. Ferngren's work provides a comprehensive illustration of relationship conflicts among religious tenets. It is however essential to recognize that the relationship between religion and conflict is a complex one as the religiously-motivated peace builders have played an indispensable role in addressing many disputes in numerous occasions across the world. This paper, therefore, discusses this aspect and considers some means through which religion can cause conflicts in regard to Ferngren works.

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Religion and Conflicts

Although not always, there are many aspects of religions that makes it highly susceptible to being the potential conflict source. Fundamentally, all the religions have their accepted dogma, tenets as well as widespread beliefs that guide every aspect of those religions (Cavanaugh, 2009). It implies that the believers are obliged to accept them without question. This feature of compelling the believers to follow them without questioning induces inflexibility and the inability to tolerate them in the face of other beliefs. While this is so, it is undeniable to mention that scriptures are profoundly opened for the interpretation. Such openness can lead to conflict that arises among the conflicting parties that are determined to determine the correct arguments.

Ferngren's work provides a meaningful fact that many religions can have significant strains of evangelism, which can tremendously cause conflicts. As depicted, the believers may be urged to spread the word of God to attract many people into that particular belief (Ferngren, 2017). For example, the efforts to impose the elements of Christianity on the subjects' people was an essential element of the conflicts that surrounded the Europeans colonization. In the same way, various groups may bar other groups from embracing or practicing their faiths. In the case where the aforementioned is exercised, it is usually out of the desire to minimize beliefs the dominant group perceives to be inferior or harmful. In the recent times, for example, the Christians in China and Sudan have been tremendously suppressed. The Chinese case is not all about the co9nfloicts among the particular religions but perception by the Chinese government of the religion as a dangerous aspect that affects the loyalty of its citizens. The lack of respect for other faiths significantly constitutes this conflict.

The book further shows that religious fundamentalists are mainly propelled and overridden by the displeasure of modernity. The marginalization of the religion within the modern society has driven these fundamentalists to act with the intent of restoring faith to its original and central place. Fundamentalist believes that religion should be purified and this has led to cultural globalization (Ferngren, 2017). In the same way, the rapid spread of Western materialism has mainly been associated with the increased gambling, alcoholism and lose morals. The Al-Qaeda extremists group is mostly determined to fight and prevent the neo-imperialism as practiced by the Western nations, in addition to the presence of the foreign military forces within the Muslim holy lands. Many research has also found that the liberal underpinning of the Western culture is threatening in traditions when it comes to the prioritization of the individuals over the group and through interrogating the role played by women within the society. Undeniably, the rise and development of the New Christians Rights in the United States have shown considerably about the feeling of the westerners about the missing aspect among the westerners. Abortion and evolution are therefore two primary issues that have demonstrated conflicts in school among the groups that feel that the traditions have been abandoned (Ferngren, 2017).

The Ferngren's book further shows that the religious nationalists can generate the extremists' sentiments. This group has tended to perceive their norms, beliefs, and tradition as highly related to their land and nation and that any threat channelled towards these beliefs affects the existence of individuals. To respond efficiently to religious threats through looking for the avenues and entities in which their faiths are privileged even if such entities are not favorable for other people. Within these contexts, various groups can utilize these platforms to as the religious symbols to propagate both the nationalists and the ethnic issues that affect the well-being of the society. The Catholics in the Northern Ireland, the Serbian Orthodox church in Yugoslavia and the Hindu nationalists in India have all demonstrated these feelings. The global media integrating various technologies have further played the critical role in reinforcing the perception of religion being conflictual. As such, massive attention to religion and conflict has been overemphasized by the global media but without the insights on the role of religion as a powerful peacemaker. The solution, therefore, to reduce the conflictual nature of the faith is to enhance the awareness of the awareness of the positive peace building and reconciliatory role that religion plays in many conflict situation. It is also vital to battle ignorance and embracing interfaith dialogue in all the levels of religious hierarchies across the sections of religious communities.

References

Cavanaugh, W. T. (2009). The myth of religious violence: Secular ideology and the roots of modern conflict. OUP USA.

Ferngren, G. B. (Ed.). (2017). Science and religion: a historical introduction. JHU Press.