Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise Among Religions? Chapter 6 key issue 4 Why Do Territorial Conflicts Arise Among Religions?

As the 20th century drew to a close, the end of the COLD WAR meant that the world no longer stood on the brink of THERMONUCLEAR WAR.

CONFLICT HAS NOT DISAPPEARED, however. Its nature has simply changed.

Though the threat of global conflict between STATES has decreased, conflict in areas with HIGH DIVERSITY has increased.

One element of cultural diversity which has become a central node of conflict since the Cold War has been religion.

FUNDAMENTALISM is a literal interpretation of a religion coupled with intense adherence to a set of tenets. Fundamentalist expression is driving many of the religious conflicts in the world today.

RELIGION VERSUS GOVERNMENT

Conflict may arise when government policies come into conflict with traditional religious values.

The TALIBAN Versus WESTERN VALUES

against Islamic resistance to the communist Afghan government. In the 1990s, the SOVIET UNION was mired in a bloody conflict in Afghanistan against Islamic resistance to the communist Afghan government.

The United States supplied BILLIONS of dollars worth of weaponry to the Afghan resistance to use against the Soviets.

After the Soviets pulled out in 1989, Afghanistan fell into disarray. In 1996, the Taliban used their American-made weapons to take control of the country.

Once in power, the Taliban attacked everything they regarded as immoral and contrary to their fundamentalist vision of Islam.

Western symbols banned- TV, Music, clothing, even kites. Most sports were banned. Men beaten or imprisoned for shaving. Gays buried alive, adulterers stoned to death. Thieves had hands cut off; women wearing nail polish lost fingers.

Symbols of all religions were desecrated by the Taliban.

Though a US-led coalition forced the Taliban from power in 2001, they have remained a potent part of Afghan tribal life, poised to return to power.

HINDUISM vs. SOCIAL EQUALITY in INDIA

In India, the hereditary Hindu CASTE SYSTEM has come into conflict with the aims of the government.

Despite efforts by the gov’t to create a more equal society, the caste system persists. One good indication of this are Indian ‘personals’ ads, which publish the caste of the advertiser and the castes they are willing to consider for a spouse.

RELIGION VERSUS COMMUNISM

Soviet Propaganda Poster The SOVIET UNION versus RELIGION Soviet Propaganda Poster

The father of Communism, Karl Marx, once famously stated that religion was the OPIATE OF THE MASSES, a source of false hope that kept the working class enslaved.

Soviet campaigns sought to eradicate religion and to replace it with Communist fervor.

Soviet propaganda associated religion with the past and socialism with the future.

Church of the Savior, Moscow

Palace of the Soviets (never built)

Though not as antagonistic as the Soviet Union, modern communist countries have a difficult relationship with religious adherents within their borders.

In Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, all nominally Communist, observant Buddhists are persecuted and their religious sites are neglected- even as they form the majority in all three countries.

ANGKOR WAT

During the Vietnam war, thousands of Buddhists were killed by both sides. Many monks immolated (burned) themselves to protest the brutality of the US-backed South Vietnamese regime.

RELIGION VERSUS RELIGION

RELIGIOUS CONFLICT In IRELAND

Though England became on of the centers of Protestant life in Europe, most of Ireland has remained staunchly Catholic. Because England conquered and controlled Ireland for hundreds of years, religion there has become intertwined with the struggle for freedom.

Today, 5/6 of the island is an independent country that is 87% Catholic.

Northern Ireland, however, remains part of the UK, and is 40% Catholic / 46% Protestant. Religious conflict is strong there.

Catholics rebels and Protestant authorities fought a 30-year war called The Struggles from the 1970s until 1998, when a peace accord was signed. Suicide bombings and urban pacification campaigns marked this dark era, when thousands were killed.

Each side formed armed factions. Catholic rebels were represented by the IRA – Irish Republican Army- while Protestant loyalists were represented by the UDF, Ulster Defense Forces.

For decades, BELFAST became site of intense fighting between IRA, UDC and British forces. Neighborhoods in the city became strictly segregated by religion.

Next Class- CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST- ISRAEL/PALESTINE