The current focus by scholars and policymakers on the role of religion in international relations is a welcome development. It’s transnational power can serve as a force for both good or ill by challenging the exclusive authority of states over their citizens, and debates over religious issues cannot be understood without taking religious beliefs into account.
There is no single normative Islam, Christianity, or Judaism. All world religions encompass diverse components and we might as well come to grips with the internal diversity of religions. After generations of theological harmonization, we recognize the obvious and admit that there is no single Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, but only Judaisms, Christianities, Islams.
History has placed two peoples, both with legitimate claims, in competition for the same land. The brutality of the Murders at Itamar is a reminder that the conflict on the West Bank, indeed the struggle between Israel and the Palestinians in all of its aspects, should be understood as a secular, rather than a religious, event.
Critical theory needs to reevaluate its relationship to positivistic social sciences. A critical approach to religion will help us better understand not only the roots of religious conflict, but also how it unfolds. It may help us make better sense of the religious right, of fundamentalisms and orthodoxies of all kinds, which stand in the way of progressive social change.
Many countries use national security as the pretext for violating human rights, but why should Iran single out the Baha’is for this kind of persecution? Since President Ahmadinejad came to power in 2006, the situation has worsened for the Baha’i community in Iran. Recently, more shocking news surfaced about the demolition of houses in the province of Mazandran in the north of Iran. But this was not an isolated event. In 2007, six Baha’i houses were set on fire and more recently, almost 50 houses have been demolished.
What is multiculturalism? Is it a concept that is often uncritically used in the contemporary ‘civic’ and academic discourse, whereby those who employ it rarely feel the need to define it? Is it the state of affairs in some countries, the fact that several cultures coexist there, or perhaps some ideal that is still to be reached, something that implies political and social changes in a society? What if three cultures on the same territory promote cultural dogmas which are mutually irreconcilable?
Sociologists present Europe as “an exceptional case” to the extent that religious beliefs and practices have declined there more than in any other part of the world. It does not mean that religion is disappearing. On the contrary, it is becoming more visible in the political and public arenas, in new, individualised and pluralised forms that are less linked to traditional churches.
Is the “West” more diverse than the “rest”? In particular, are the traditionally Western Christian countries in Europe, and the United States, more religiously diverse than the rest of the world? When we compare the U.S. to countries that are somewhat comparable to it in terms of their population, the results are interesting. I suggest that the European and American scholars and publicists should at the very least refrain from calling their countries “religiously diverse,” when in fact they really are not.
Religion is a significant voice in international relations and its increased prominence is due in no small measure, for western audiences at least, to the influence of the Christian Right in US domestic politics and international affairs. The resounding Democratic election victories in 2008 might suggest that the movement has reached its nadir and is no longer worthy of consideration, but thie movement is highly resilient.
Religion, in the past, had influenced the behavior of international actors without determining it, although its role often went unnoticed. This situation, notwithstanding the new found fascination with the impact of religion on international affairs, has not changed. Religion is neither the source of conflicts and disputes nor a panacea for global problems.
Before you download your free e-book, please consider donating to support open access publishing.
E-IR is an independent non-profit publisher run by an all volunteer team. Your donations allow us to invest in new open access titles and pay our bandwidth bills to ensure we keep our existing titles free to view. Any amount, in any currency, is appreciated. Many thanks!
Donations are voluntary and not required to download the e-book - your link to download is below.
