Throughout history religion has been a divisive factor causing religious discrimination, persecutions, civil strife and wars among nations.
What is most fundamentally religions is the gospel of peace. While religion has been a unifying force among practitioners of a particular religion and has led to the development and progress of civilisation, it has also been a divisive factor, turning man against man. It has led to persecution and war. The early Christians were persecuted by the Romans. The Saracens and Christians fought for supremacy for more than one hundred and fifty years. The partition of the Indian sub-continent into India and Pakistan and the blood-bath that followed were based on religion. Even when men worshipeped nature, they were divided by their patron gods. When monotheistic religions came to be established, there was again division between believers and non-believers. Religious sects belonging to the same religion also drive a wedge between man and man. The strife in Ireland between Catholics and Protestants is a case in point. Emotional attachment to one's religion has always caused strife. Bigots and fanatics are blind to the nobler side of religion; they turn religion into a divisive-force, into an-instrument of hatred and war.
Jonathan Swift once said, “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.” All religions lay emphasis on love and humanity. But in practice religions make people hate one another: those who believe in a particular religion do not like those who believe in other religions. This has divided mankind, and has been one of the causes of much bloodshed in the world. Aldous Huxley even goes to the extent of saying that wars may be made for the purpose of furthering a religious creed.
If we go through the pages of history, we find accounts of religious wars and persecutions that have done incalculable harm to mankind. The early Christians were persecuted by the Roman emperors. The Saracens and Christians in Spain hated one another. This resulted in the eventual exodus of the Saracens from Spain. The Christians and Muslims were intolerant of one another, and when the rising power of the Turks frightened Europe, the Pope and his Church Council declared a ‘holy war’ on the Muslims and called upon all the Christian peoples of Europe to march to the rescue of the 'holy’ city, namely, Jerusalem. Thus began the Crusades in 1095 A.D. This struggle between Christianity and Islam, between the Cross and the Crescent, continued for more than 150 years. The long warfare yielded no substantial results to the Crusaders. The chief result of the Crusades was to bring death and misery to millions of Christians and Muslims and again to soak Asia Minor and Palestine in human blood. If this was a long drawn-out struggle that took place in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Hindu-Muslim struggle in the Indian subcontinent is something quite recent. The people of India during their freedom struggle became keenly aware of their religious differences and there ensued large-scale riots and bloodshed resulting in the final partition of India into two countries on the basis of religion.
Why do religions divide rather than unite mankind? This question is quite pertinent, for religions have laid down values and standards and have pointed out principles for the guidance of human beings. Furthermore, religions have helped greatly in the development of humanity. But with all the good they have done, they have also tried to imprison truth in set forms and dogmas, and have encouraged ceremonies and practices which soon lose all their original meaning and become mere routine. It is not in man’s fundamental faith in God, humanity and love that religions differ; they differ from one another in their ceremonies, rituals, beliefs and practices. It is only logical for a practitioner of one religion to believe that his is the only true religion. But when such a man considers himself and his co-practitioners superior, he gets intolerant of others’ beliefs and practices and starts despising them. This leads to religious bigotry and fanaticism, which are the root causes of the hostility between religious groups.
In India, a secular state, there is often Hindu-Muslim rivalry. But the trouble in Punjab crippled the law and order authority, stretching the fabric of tolerance to its very limits. The violence that was unleashed as a result of the separatist movement in Punjab, a movement which had its genesis in religion, has eroded its tranquil and pastoral image. Punjab was noted for fraternity between Hindus and Sikhs, but the strands of togetherness were severed and the revered Golden Temple was used as a storehouse for arms and a sanctuary for terrorists.
Inflamed religious passions resulted in hurling the state of Punjab down the road of communal strife. Religion that should make people sane and foster brotherhoo-was used to mobilise thousands and challenge authority. Religion again became a divisive force causing strife that scarred the national consciousness.
Not only religions but also religious sects within each religion cause division among mankind. So it is that the Protestants are at daggers drawn with the Catholics in Ireland and that the ‘Sunni’ Muslims are at war with the ‘Shia’. The conflict between the ‘Shias’ and the ‘Sunnis’ is seen in Pakistan and in the war between Iran and Iraq. In the Iran-lraq war nearly two million people lost their homes. Among Hindus too there are warring factions based on caste which follow different rites and ceremonies and have different sets of beliefs.
In all religions and religious sects the emotional element has been prominent. Emotions may be dangerous; they lead one astray. As we examine the history of religions, it becomes evident that the ‘I believe’ element has been prominent. Some men have been put to death for not believing ‘what they ought to believe’. Emotional attachment to one’s religion, especially when divorced from reason, has caused bloodshed and riots. If emotion is curbed by the intellect and the essential values upheld by all religions are cherished by mankind, religions will cease to be a divisive force, for man’s chief duty according to all religions is ‘to love mercy, to do justly, and to walk humbly with thy'God’. For Jesus the great commandments are love of God and love of one’s~neighbour. True religion involves the whole of life and it is man’s co-operative quest for the values of life. In the hands of bigots and fanatics, this nobler side of religion is absolutely lost to the world. They turn religion into a divisive force, into an instrument of hatred and war.
Jonathan Swift once said, “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.” All religions lay emphasis on love and humanity. But in practice religions make people hate one another: those who believe in a particular religion do not like those who believe in other religions. This has divided mankind, and has been one of the causes of much bloodshed in the world. Aldous Huxley even goes to the extent of saying that wars may be made for the purpose of furthering a religious creed.
If we go through the pages of history, we find accounts of religious wars and persecutions that have done incalculable harm to mankind. The early Christians were persecuted by the Roman emperors. The Saracens and Christians in Spain hated one another. This resulted in the eventual exodus of the Saracens from Spain. The Christians and Muslims were intolerant of one another, and when the rising power of the Turks frightened Europe, the Pope and his Church Council declared a ‘holy war’ on the Muslims and called upon all the Christian peoples of Europe to march to the rescue of the 'holy’ city, namely, Jerusalem. Thus began the Crusades in 1095 A.D. This struggle between Christianity and Islam, between the Cross and the Crescent, continued for more than 150 years. The long warfare yielded no substantial results to the Crusaders. The chief result of the Crusades was to bring death and misery to millions of Christians and Muslims and again to soak Asia Minor and Palestine in human blood. If this was a long drawn-out struggle that took place in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Hindu-Muslim struggle in the Indian subcontinent is something quite recent. The people of India during their freedom struggle became keenly aware of their religious differences and there ensued large-scale riots and bloodshed resulting in the final partition of India into two countries on the basis of religion.
Why do religions divide rather than unite mankind? This question is quite pertinent, for religions have laid down values and standards and have pointed out principles for the guidance of human beings. Furthermore, religions have helped greatly in the development of humanity. But with all the good they have done, they have also tried to imprison truth in set forms and dogmas, and have encouraged ceremonies and practices which soon lose all their original meaning and become mere routine. It is not in man’s fundamental faith in God, humanity and love that religions differ; they differ from one another in their ceremonies, rituals, beliefs and practices. It is only logical for a practitioner of one religion to believe that his is the only true religion. But when such a man considers himself and his co-practitioners superior, he gets intolerant of others’ beliefs and practices and starts despising them. This leads to religious bigotry and fanaticism, which are the root causes of the hostility between religious groups.
In India, a secular state, there is often Hindu-Muslim rivalry. But the trouble in Punjab crippled the law and order authority, stretching the fabric of tolerance to its very limits. The violence that was unleashed as a result of the separatist movement in Punjab, a movement which had its genesis in religion, has eroded its tranquil and pastoral image. Punjab was noted for fraternity between Hindus and Sikhs, but the strands of togetherness were severed and the revered Golden Temple was used as a storehouse for arms and a sanctuary for terrorists.
Inflamed religious passions resulted in hurling the state of Punjab down the road of communal strife. Religion that should make people sane and foster brotherhoo-was used to mobilise thousands and challenge authority. Religion again became a divisive force causing strife that scarred the national consciousness.
Not only religions but also religious sects within each religion cause division among mankind. So it is that the Protestants are at daggers drawn with the Catholics in Ireland and that the ‘Sunni’ Muslims are at war with the ‘Shia’. The conflict between the ‘Shias’ and the ‘Sunnis’ is seen in Pakistan and in the war between Iran and Iraq. In the Iran-lraq war nearly two million people lost their homes. Among Hindus too there are warring factions based on caste which follow different rites and ceremonies and have different sets of beliefs.
In all religions and religious sects the emotional element has been prominent. Emotions may be dangerous; they lead one astray. As we examine the history of religions, it becomes evident that the ‘I believe’ element has been prominent. Some men have been put to death for not believing ‘what they ought to believe’. Emotional attachment to one’s religion, especially when divorced from reason, has caused bloodshed and riots. If emotion is curbed by the intellect and the essential values upheld by all religions are cherished by mankind, religions will cease to be a divisive force, for man’s chief duty according to all religions is ‘to love mercy, to do justly, and to walk humbly with thy'God’. For Jesus the great commandments are love of God and love of one’s~neighbour. True religion involves the whole of life and it is man’s co-operative quest for the values of life. In the hands of bigots and fanatics, this nobler side of religion is absolutely lost to the world. They turn religion into a divisive force, into an instrument of hatred and war.
Throughout history religion has been a divisive factor causing religious discrimination, persecutions, civil strife and wars among nations.
Reviewed by Jame Collins
on
1:25 AM
Rating:
Reviewed by Jame Collins
on
1:25 AM
Rating:
Jame Collins
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