Verbum

Volume 11 Issue 2 Article 12

May 2014

Violence in Religion
Zach VanAernum
St. John Fisher University

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Recommended Citation
VanAernum, Zach (2014) "Violence in Religion," Verbum: Vol. 11: Iss. 2, Article 12.
Available at: https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/verbum/vol11/iss2/12

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Violence in Religion

Abstract
In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

"Religion plays a large role in many people’s life. Many of the choices that people make are influenced and
guided by their religious practices. Religion can often help people better themselves and help the lives of
others. On the contrary it may seem that religion can do the opposite, causing people to be violent.
Religion often gets blamed for acts of violence including suicide, martyrdom and terrorism. This paper
will discuss several views of scholars on the role that religion plays in violence, paying close attention to
whether religion is inherently violent and if religion recodes human perceptions of violence."

This essay on religion is available in Verbum: https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/verbum/vol11/iss2/12

Violence in Religion
Introduction

Religion plays a large role in many people’s life. Many of the choices that people make

are influenced and guided by their religious practices. Religion can often help people better

themselves and help the lives of others. On the contrary it may seem that religion can do the

opposite, causing people to be violent. Religion often gets blamed for acts of violence including

suicide, martyrdom and terrorism. This paper will discuss several views of scholars on the role

that religion plays in violence, paying close attention to whether religion is inherently violent and

if religion recodes human perceptions of violence.

Is religion inherently violent?

In his piece written for Christian Century, Isaac Mwangi discusses the killing of Muslim

cleric Sheikh Aboud Rogo. This event evoked one of the worst inter-faith acts of violence in

Kenya to date. Although this event is clearly driven by religious beliefs, Mwangi argues that the

source of violence is not directly from religion, but rather from other factors such as politics and

military actions. He believes that the violence is a sort of chain reaction due to initial violence

not necessarily related to religion. “Kenya’s military involvement in Somalia opened the country

to the possibility of increased terrorist attacks” (26). Mwangi believes that initial terrorist attacks
originated in response to military actions. However these attacks were associated with the

attacker’s religion, leading to a religious tension that remains present today. Mwangi was sure to

follow up with the fact that religion more often than not seeks to resolve conflict: “The most

religious thing for us is to be human… and being human to seek justice for every human being”

(29).

William Cavanaugh discusses how religion was associated with the Boston Bombings

that occurred in 2013. Following the capture of the Tsarnev brothers, the media erupted with

stories blaming the act of terrorism on the brothers’ Islamic beliefs. Cavanaugh states that

although Islam likely played a role in the brothers’ worldview, it did not necessarily cause the act

of violence. “Islam and Christianity are not just sets of doctrines but lived experiences that are

constituted in part by what people make of them” (12). His point is that although religion may in

some circumstances contribute to people’s acts of violence, it is not inherently violent. “We

prefer to locate “religious” causes of violence and become quite incurious when “secular” causes

like nationalism are in play” (Cavanaugh, 12).

Ibrahim Khan and Faruk Karaca both believe that religion is not inherently violent.

Instead, religious violence occurs when people interpret the teachings of their religion in their

own way and use those beliefs to justify violence to others. “Many people blame religion as

responsible for violence but the reality is that religion is a victim of violence as it is manipulated

by its followers” (Khan, 375). This quote does a good job at explaining how religion related

violence originates and is very similar to something that Karaca states.

In this context, in order to legitimize their violent actions, some arguments that people make carry religious
features. In this way, violence is legitimized and in the mind of the person who resorts to violence, the behavior
is no longer perceived as a violence act, but as a right and necessary action.
(Karaca, 20),
This is a powerful quote and concisely explains how religion can be used as a justification for

violence when people take liberties with their interpretations.

Taking a different approach, Benjamin Purzycki and Kyle Gibson use a scientific

perspective to address the relationship between violence and religion. They use evidence

regarding violent situations to determine if there is any causal link to religion. “Perhaps the most

common problem making the claim that religion causes violence is one of logic; are we finding

causal relations where there may be only correlations?” (22) Throughout the paper they discuss

their findings and “find little if any reason to conclude that any essential feature of religion(s)

plays any real role in causing violence or oppression” (24). The methods used in this study

brought a fresh new perspective to the argument over violence and religion.

Wolfgang Huber discusses many of the acts of religious violence throughout history and

attempts to systematically determine the role that religion played. In this discussion he not only

states his own opinion, but he uses other research to support his statements. He states; “Serious

research shows that religiosity does not necessarily lead to a decrease but rather, at least in

certain circumstances, to an increase in latent or manifest violence” (Huber 40). It is important to

realize however that like Purzycki and Gibson stated, “correlation does not prove causation”

(23). Huber goes on to state that during the last century, religion has been increasingly regarded

as a factor sparking and feeding conflicts. However, “This interpretation has to do with how the

identity of ethnic, national, or social groups is predominantly seen through the lens of religion

more than before” (Huber, 43). Similar to the points discussed previously, Huber believes that

violence is not an inherent characteristic of religion, but rather an acquired or even ascribed

quality of religion.
 The overwhelming majority of the points made by these authors suggest that religion is

not inherently violent. Instead it is the way that religion is interpreted that can be the cause of

violence. The problem arises when people take the liberty of interpreting religion in such a way

that allows them to justify being violent against another person. In some cases religion may not

even be what originally fueled the violence, but instead modern society jumps to the conclusion

that religion is the cause.

In what ways might religion “recode” human perceptions about the use or restraint of

violence?

Due to the power of religion and the extent to which it plays a role in people’s lives, it is

not hard to believe that religion may “recode” or change the way that people think about certain

aspects of life. As discussed above, people interpret religious texts and practices differently.

Depending on one’s interpretation, religion can often sway the way that one thinks about the

world.

A controversial example of recoding was brought up by Purzycki and Gibson discussing

the murder of Jesse Anderson and Jeffrey Dahmer by Christopher Scarver. “Scarver claimed that

God had told him to do it… Did Scarver’s belief in a deity cause him to murder these men?” (22)

This is certainly an extreme claim of religious recoding and it would be difficult to make the

argument that Scarver did in fact commit murder due to his religious beliefs and not

psychological problems. However this is a useful example to introduce the fact that some people

make drastic claims about the extent to which religion can change people.

Many feel that extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda have been “recoded” by their religion.

This is likely solely based on the Al-Qaeda’s interpretation of their religion, specifically the

meaning of jihad; it is a good example of how dangerous it can be if religion is wrongly

incorrect interpretation. “Religious terrorism is a type of political violence motivated by an

absolute belief that an otherworldly power has sanctioned terrorist violence for the greater glory

of the faith” (364).

A similar argument is made by Isaac Mwangi about the religious battle between

Christians and Muslims in Kenya. In this case it is slightly different in the fact that Muslims

seem to be “recoded” by the Christian faith. Mwangi argues that “they (Muslims) consider

Christians to be responsible for their material deprivation” (29). In this case the Muslims seem to

truly believe that Christian beliefs have caused them harm and in return changed their own

beliefs to attack Christians. This may not be “recoding” in the traditional sense, but it is still a

form of religious recoding.

On the other hand, William Cavanaugh argues that it is not religion but rather nationalism

that recodes people’s beliefs. “My point is simply that we prefer to locate “religious” causes of

violence and become quite incurious when “secular” causes like nationalism are in play” (12).

He believes that things such as nationalism and society play a bigger role in the beliefs of people

than religion.

Wolfgang Huber argues that religion does in fact help to “recode” people’s beliefs but in

a way that leads to nonviolence rather than violence. “All religions include an impulse to

overcome violence” (43). He believes that the positive teachings of religion help to invoke

beliefs in people that cause them to do good in their community and within society as a whole.

“All religions need to recognize that they have a great educational responsibility. They have

opportunities to transform the ‘Golden Rule’ into daily practice” (Huber, 45). He shows the true

power of religion in teaching people to treat others with kindness rather than violence.
 Faruk Karaca uses a similar argument to show that religion generally causes non-violent

outcomes for people. “Religious people are more benevolent towards foreigners, more generous

for charity foundations and also attract attention for their politeness and honesty” (21). He also

goes on to show that religions that assume a tougher attitude against suicide actually have a

lower rate of suicide than in religions that don’t (cf. Huber 21). This is a very strong example of

recoding. This directly shows that people’s beliefs towards suicide are different based on their

religion.

Based on all of these examples it seems fair to say that religion can in fact “recode” the

way that people think about violence. In the cases where it recodes people to use violence it

seems that it is generally due to improper interpretations towards religious teachings. However

the opposite can be said: often religious teachings can have good outcomes and cause people to

be less violent.

Conclusion

In my opinion religion is not inherently violent. The examples provided in the first

section of the paper have convinced me that religion is not violent; instead it is the way that

people choose to interpret religion that can provide them with justification for violent actions.

This can be especially dangerous and probably leads to many of the violent disputes between the

world’s religions. I also believe that religion can in fact “recode” the way that people feel about

violence. Because I don’t feel that religion is inherently violent, I don’t think that religion can

recode someone to use violence unless he/she incorrectly interpret the religious teachings. In fact

I think that religion recodes people to be less violent and better citizens in their community.
 Bibliography

Cavanaugh, William. The Root of Evil. America, (2013, August 5). 11-14

Grant, Benjamin, & Gibson, Kyle. “Religion and Violence: An Anthopological Study on Religious Belief and
Violent Behavior”. Skeptic Magazine, 16, 2 (2011) 22-27.

Huber, Wolfgang. Religion and violence in a globalized world. Verbum et Ecclesia, 18, 11 (2011).
Karaca, Faruk. Violence and Religion from the Psycho-Social Perspective. Ekev Academic Review, 30, 11 (2007)
13-24.
Khan, Ibrahim. Violence in the Name of God and the World Order. The Dialogue, 8, 4, (2007) 360-382.
Mwangi, Isaac. Open door for terrorism. Christian Century, 31, 10 (2012) 26-31