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What role does r eligion play in political conflicts?. Part two. Religious Fundamentalism and Extremism. Today pretty much everywhere around the world religious leaders and their millions of followers are trying to return to the basics of their faiths.
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What role does religion play in political conflicts? Part two
Religious Fundamentalism and Extremism • Today pretty much everywhere around the world religious leaders and their millions of followers are trying to return to the basics of their faiths. • When people get frustrated with the perceived breakdown of their society’s moral and values, failure to achieve economic goals, lack of religious authority, and a lost sense of local control religious fundamentalism begins to set in. • Sometimes people take religious fundamentalism too far to the point that they become violent and reach religious extremism. • Today the forces of globalization take a large toll on religions.
Christianity • Some of the biggest problems that the Roman Catholic Church has with the modern world is birth control, the role of women in the religious “royalty”, and family planning. • The Roman Catholic Church has over one billion supporters and has a worldwide presence both politically and diplomatically. • In the United States there are some followers that still hold Mass in Latin and remain very fundamentalist. • Some stand apart from the Catholic Church and do not recognize the pope. • The Traditionalist Catholic Movement is a fundamentalist movement that believes Mass should still be given in Latin.
Christianity cont. • The Traditionalist Catholic Movement also believes that modern popes and clergy are not following the traditional practices and theology of the Church. • In the United States Protestant faiths are often associated with Christian fundamentalism. • No matter the size, Protestant churches have become progressively active in social and political arenas. • They have began to argue for prayer in public schools, create a strict ban on abortion, adopting the laws of outlawing gay marriages, and an increase in the teaching of creationism in science courses.
Judaism • Like all other major religions Judaism is split into many sects, and the most fundamentalist sect is the Orthodox sect. • More fundamentalist Jews that migrate to Israel tend to vote more conservatively in political elections and affecting their outcomes. • Judaism also has it’s extremist groups, like the Kach and Kahane Chai, followers of the late American-born, Israeli Rabbi Meir Kahane.
Judaism cont. • Along with fundamentalist Jews living in Israel, there are some living in Europe and North America that send their support through money to certain politicians for issues like the problems with the West Bank. • Rabbi Kahane adopted anti-Arabism in his teachings and many of his followers in Kach or Kahane Chai are suspected in numerous terrorist attacks in Israel.
Islam • Not all Muslim communities abide strictly to the rules of the Qu’ran. • Such an inconsistent following, and with external factors, produces a reaction not only in the religious administrations but also among many believers. • A large sign of growth in the fundamentalism of Islam is the expansion of the Shari’a laws. • The Shari’a laws are extremely harsh, for example if one is caught stealing they lose a hand or limb.
Islam cont. • Since the 1970s and 1980s the Iranian government has used fundamentalism to maintain their hold on the power. • The Taliban in Afghanistan proved how quickly a group can go from fundamentalism to extremism all to change one place. • The Taliban also provided haven for Islamic extremists who sought to create a jihad especially against the West, mainly the United States.
