Best Way to Prevent Religion from Creating Political Conflict within a State - Report Example

Best way to prevent religion from creating political conflict within a The way people relate in society can create a conflict, or the conditions that can result to a conflict. A society where the normal way of life is in unfair manner and there is no transparency, there is a high chance of conflict emerging. People can have a misunderstanding about their political stands. This leads to political conflict. Religion is one of the causes of political conflict. Religion plays a role in any. Machiavelli stated that religion was one of the greatest influences in human lives, and he does not want that to change. There are religious conflicts that give rise to political conflicts. Example of this is when Arab countries reject the idea of modern Muslim, and eject any leader that supports the idea, from power. This gives rise to political conflict when the people eject the leaders. This paper is going to give ways of preventing religion from creating political conflict. Introduction There are strict rules that come with religion. It demands all the people to adhere to the rules. If a single factor affects the adherence to the rules, it can lead to conflicts, which eventually, will connect the political system of the state. This will cause political conflicts. This paper is going to find the best way to prevent religion from causing political conflict. It is going to show recommendations that will help sort out causes of religion misunderstanding. Machiavelli used the example of how God communicated with Moses directly. This made Moses very influential among his followers, and they respected what he said (Machiavelli 12). With this, Machiavelli tries to mean religion can make a person very influential. Whatever he does can affect the normal way of life. This is like a political leader because he controls the masses. Any problem that the religious leader faces can lead to political conflict, because of his influence. There are many problems associated with religion that can cause conflict. There are times people’s beliefs clash. This is where some churches do not agree on a certain rule about religion. In the end, there will be religious wars, which can spill over to the political system. They say these wars are for gods and goddess, and people lose their lives. People claim to be fighting for the values of the community and their own religion. Example of this is the Sudan conflict, where the North and South were fighting based on their religious background. This required use of force to end this conflict. In the end, many people blamed the political class for escalating the war by inciting the masses. Experts say religion is a form of soft power. If there is any civil war, leaders point out to religion as the main cause. Religious organization, too, use the political leaders to air their concerns and ensure the leaders implement their concerns. Religious organizations should formulate ways to end these religious wars, currently and in the future. There should be a religious understanding in many countries, especially the Muslim countries. Civilization is an important tool in solving most religious wars. People are still stuck in the past. For example, the Indian army destroyed the mosque, because of a border dispute. This required the Muslims to get education on the importance of boundaries and government jurisdiction. Experts warn there will be wars that are religious in the future, resulting to political conflicts. This is because; with the constant interaction, people will differ in their cultural systems. Nations have used religion as their source of identity, because religion is a source of soft power. Another cause of religious conflict is, when there is an escalation of low-intensity violence. This includes terrorism and political reformations. Each religion has its own fundamentalist. The fundamentalists hold influential positions in the government. Example of this is Rabbi Kahane of Palestine, who was the head of Kach party. He was against the Arabs, and his party used brutality and torture against the Arabs. This led to political tensions and eventually war. The West always view Islam as the cause of terrorism. This is because when there is a terrorist attack, Muslim groups claim responsibility and term it as Jihad. The West Christian fundamentalists declare Muslim as a terrorist religion and vow to take them down. This creates tension among religious lines. A religion will feel disrespected, example the Muslim community, and the followers will demand that the government cut ties with the Western countries. Machiavelli supports the Islam in this case. He argues that, political leaders should not love their enemies (Machiavelli 20). When Islam attacks another religion, they are doing it for their own good. A country under attack should allow the attackers to cause harm (Machiavelli 20). This is the reason Muslims keep on attacking the countries that view them as terrorists. Another cause of religious conflict is structural violence in the society. This could spill over to the political system causing political conflicts. Structural violence occurs when there is a strict authority in charge of people. Example of this is the use of dictatorship to govern people. There is no rule of the people and little democracy in such countries. Several religions have endorsed governments that are authoritarian in nature. Example of this is when Vatican supported the harsh authority in Portugal. Machiavelli in his book, The prince, said Moses could even use excess authority over the people and even kill them (Machiavelli 27). This is because Moses was the one chosen by God. Churches that support authoritarian leadership follow that argument. The church views these leaders as chosen from God and can do whatever they want. The same is unlikely in other religious organizations. These organizations do not agree with the rule of using oppression and force. Most recently, the Vatican showed their disapproval of authoritarian leadership. This leads to conflicts in ideologies of whom to support in leadership. People bring up conflicts if they are not satisfied with their religious organization’s stand in the political nature of the state. Many people view their religious tradition relate closely to the country’s traditions. They consider every decision made by their religious leaders as a state decision, example, the Hindu religious decisions in India is always national. Another cause of religious conflict that can escalate to political conflict is cultural violence. This happens when a certain religion, example Catholic, does not support the way of operations of the other religion, example protestant. This can lead to an indirect or direct conflict between these two religions. Different countries support different religious organizations. Conflicts resulting from cultural differences of religions can result to tensions between countries. An example, some countries abolish certain practices like homosexuality because of their religious values. Countries that support homosexuality will cut contacts with those that do not support it. This is a political conflict arising from religion. Cultural conflicts mainly arise when some religions view themselves as the chosen one from God. Governments abide by this religion, and sometimes they control that religion. In Leviathan, Hobbes states that a given state’s authority can have control over any religious organization, and direct which faith people should choose (Hobbes 10). Bishops of a certain religion impose rules of how they should do some things. This is a cause of cultural conflict, which grows to become a political conflict. There are some cultures in religion that can result to uprisings in countries. For example when a state leader receives an award, and it does not match the values of his country’s religious standards. The Greek Orthodox Church awarded Karapi, the Serbian leader, yet Serbia does not accept the ways of Orthodox Church. This can result to political conflicts because there will be uprisings demanding Serbia’s leader removal. Another cause of religious conflict is modernization. Some religious organizations do not support mixing of modernization with their religious practices. The world is experiencing cultural globalization and governments do not want globalization to pass them. Most Muslim dominated countries experience this. Western cultures, such as alcoholism, infidelity, have spread to Muslim dominated countries, and this is against their Islam religious standards. They start to direct their anger towards the Western Countries using violence. Al –Qaeda used this as a reason for their terrorism activities. The terrorists were fighting against neo-imperialism that was affecting their religion. Muslims were also angry that soldiers were fighting in the holy land. With this, there will be high-level political conflict that can last for a long time. Machiavelli argues that there are times when there are conquests by criminal virtues (Machiavelli 10). This is when the one who leads a religious war is doing it for the good of the religion, but it is not correct morally. Terrorists kill others to defend their Muslim culture. Countries that do not support terrorism alienate others that support it. This leads to wars and takes a new dimension of political conflict. There are various ways to prevent religion from creating political conflict. Religious organizations should remove themselves from political interventions. There are consequences when these organizations engage themselves in solving a political problem. They should be neutral as how Vatican was during the world war. People are followers of these organizations, and if they do not satisfy the people’s position in the intervention, it can lead to a conflict. Religious organization should choose between Nationalism and Ecumenism. Religious leaders should have the ability to overcome things that the masses do not tolerate in their way of life. They should be able to reject applying nationalism in their system and create a environment that supports ecumenism. An ecumenical climate favors peace between all religions, especially Christians and the Jews. Religious organizations should view themselves as peace-making organs. They are supposed to participate in peace-building activities, to bring rival groups together. Catholic churches are always role models in making peace. Machiavelli argues that Catholic Church was easy to start and not expensive to maintain (Machiavelli 15). Their leaders are focused and do not want to see any form of conflict. Religious leaders can participate in peace building by empowering the people. They should explain the importance of social justice, to the people. The leaders should empower the people on the disadvantages of fighting for religion, like terrorism activities. People should engage in demonstrating against the use of war to fight for religion. Peace agreements should involve the people because peace is to their advantage. Religious sites, for example temples, should be used as a training centre for future peace crusaders. These crusaders should be aware of theological theories that are against conflicts. These theological theories are liberation theology and support the use of peaceful means to stop conflicts and support governments that apply democracy and uphold the human rights. In the end, there will be less occurrence of structural violence, which can lead to political conflict. Church members should visit scenes of political conflicts and offer their support to the victims. The church can avail funds for constructing shelters, educating the children, and providing health facilities. There are risks in these missions, but it will be a sign of peace building by churches. Another way of preventing religions from causing political conflicts is by promoting moral-political environment. Hobbes stated that it is the government and religions duty to observe good morals in front of the citizens. In the book, "Agreement of People", religion had its freedom back since time immemorial (Levellers 15). They can criticize the government when things are not right and offer recommendations. Most governments and religious organizations do not go hand in hand. Government leaders fear the religious leaders because of their ability to criticize openly something not morally accepted. Machiavelli argued that it is better if people fear a person than to love the person, if he cannot be both (Machiavelli 16). Religious organizations should avoid the status quo. They should respect the practices of other religions. This will create a pluralism environment where there is fair competition. With this, there will be progressive development in peace making because there will be Cultural Revolution. A religious leader should use his status quo to bring peace back to his community. Example of this is when John Paul II became the pope. Many people who viewed Poland, Pope’s home country, as a communist state changed their views. Nationals of Poland became morally upright and started to live a changed life. Peace prevailed and there was political stability. If there is political conflict, religions should stand by the side that respects morals. The Levelers advocated for morality and equality in political systems. Politicians should respect what the religious leaders point as wrong because Levelers called for religious tolerance in governance. Religious leaders should define what is war or peace. Most conflicts do not know why they involve themselves in war or peace. Example of this is the terrorism acts. Terrorists think they are doing for the peace of their religion however, from an international view it is a war. There is bloodsheds and destruction of properties. Religious leaders should define what is of tolerance and intolerance. When there is modernization, people should not view it as destruction to religious values. Governments should not tolerate issues that involve alcoholism while they tolerate issues like technology advancement. In making peace, religious organizations should show moral legitimacy. There should be a person legitimate, example, the pope who is legitimate to participate in any international peace resolution meetings. In their book, the Levelers said people will view this legitimate person as the right person with good morals, and they can respect his views (Levellers 19). Religious organizations should show neutrality in promoting peace. They are not supposed to show their stand, but rather promote peace in the disputing political parties. Religious leaders should demonstrate ability in advancing the other party political standing. If they visit a state that is in political conflict, the state leaders get a political advantage. With this advantage, there will be a fruitful mediation talks. The state will achieve peace faster and there will be no more political conflicts. Religious leaders should be able to get access to the public opinion. They have the highest status quo, example, the pope. He can have the attention of various media houses around the world. This can help unite all the people globally, and at the end, promoting peace. Religious organization can stop political conflict if they choose the best way to end the war. To attain peace, there are various methods to apply. This is by either using peace talks or use of the military. Hobbes argues that, a religious organization should put the will of the people first before choosing which way to bring peace (Hobbes 10). Some religions prefer fighting their enemies to dismantle them, as the Quakers. Some religious organizations, fight against the use of arms. They are contributing to arms control. If religious leaders in Sudan could resist against use of arms, there could be no war between the South and North. Religious leaders could contribute towards peace making by applying the traditional diplomatic methods. Churches, like the Vatican, have priests all over the world who are in touch with the local people. These priests can help in the mediation process if there are political tensions. Religious leaders should set goals in progressing with conflict resolution. They should choose either to settle the conflict, by use of force, or by resolving the conflict, by use of negotiations. The levelers fought for fairness in serving people where there is respect of human rights (Levellers 16). Conclusion If various religious organizations apply these recommendations, the world would be peaceful with no political tensions. Every religious leader has a role in peace building. He should lead by example, and apply methods that are morally accepted. Religious level should be very confidential when they are involved in peacekeeping mediation. Secrecy will keep a peaceful environment between conflicting parties. Example of this is when the Vatican has secrecy as one of its principle. A religious organization can solve the cultural and structural conflict by methods of negotiation. There should be no wars to settle conflicts. There should be religious dialogues all over the world to prevent conflicts. All religious organizations should respect each other, and help one another to tackle conflicts. Machiavelli argues that there are conquests by fortune, where religion can use another religion’s good virtue, to fight a vice (Machiavelli 20). This paper recommends to the religious organizations to take their role, as most influential organization in the world, to empower the people with the advantage of having a peaceful world. Hobbes argued that peace in religion would eventually lead to peace in the political system (Hobbes 56). There is a close relationship between leaders in the political systems with the religious counterparts. They engage themselves in building the economy and peace of a given state. Each decision made in the religious department, will have an impact in the political field and vice versa. This requires dominance of peace in both sectors for the common good of the people. Work Cited Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Chicago: Oxford , 2006. Print. Levellers. "Agreement of the People." Agreement of the People (1647): Agitators . Print. Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. Chicago: SoHo Books, 2011. Print. Read More