Monroe,Callie



Question: How do religions teach their followers to deal with conflict? Why is there conflict related to religion in todays society?



Introduction: Ever since the beginning of time there have been coflicts between different religious groups. Take for instance the conflict between the polytheistic society of Ancient Egypt and Judaism. Jewish Israelites had always been part of Ancient Egyptian society, but as their population in Egypt increased so did the Pharaohs fear that they would turn against the Egyptians. This resulted in Jews being enslaved in Egypt for hundreds of years. Not only is conflict between religions evident in ancient times it is very much a part of society today. The conflict between Sunni and Shia sects of Islam started after the death of Muhammad but has carried on throughout history and still separates the religion of Islam today. Especially in Iraq, this conflict that originated hundreds of years ago, causes hatred and violence. Despite that fact these conflicts do exist religions are based on love, it is people who change them around and use them as a platform for hate.

In this brochure I will be examining how religions, specifically holy texts, teach you to deal with conflict. The three primary texts I will analyze are the Christian Bible, the Hindu Gita, and the Islamic Koran. In addition I will examine secondary sources to further investigate the topic. I will then compare and contrast how these three religions and how conflict is supposed to be dealt with within each religion. This topic is very important and relevant because the cause of many modern day conflicts is religion.









Christianity: There are many instances in the Christian Bible that portray conflict in a bad light. People who take part in or cause conflict are described as hot-tempered, perverse, greedy, and angry. None of these adjectives are ones that people would aspire to be and are usually reserved for the corrupt people of society. Knowing this, it would be assumed that someone who believes in Christianity would abstain from participating in/causing conflict. In addition to describing conflict causers in this way the Bible states, “all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52) meaning that participating in conflict, or taking the sword, will result in death by that conflict, or perishing by the sword. In the event that conflict does occur the Bible teaches its believers to act in a very passive way, “Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” (Matthew 5:39,44) Instead of fighting back you should, in theory take the pain and not fight back. I find this a very hard idea to play out. When someone is threatening you, your body almost has a subconscious necessity to protect itself. The bible also states, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” (Luke 6:27-36) This, once again, seems like an unobtainable goal. Forgiving someone who does you wrong is a hard goal in itself, but to bless and love them is incredibly difficult. The high expectations set by the bible are hard to reach. Even if a person is not able to meet all requirements set by the Bible they should still be able to understand the theme that conflict should be avoided and act accordingly.





Hinduism: In the Hindu religion there is a very large spiritual connection to conflict. The Gita, the Hindu holy text, is centered around conflict specifically the conflict between human and nature, mind and soul, and soul and god. It is believed that it is impossible to have an inner conflict without an outer conflict and in order to resolve conflict you have to be remade and surrender to the omnipotent. The Gita also recognizes that conflict between people can ruin relationships. Violence and conflict are understood to be unavoidable. That said it is still believed that the world would be a better place if people didn’t fight and compete with each other. Non-violence is a quality of someone with divine virtues. People who do not practice violence are believed to be successful in spiritual discipline with minimal effort. Not only will a violence and conflict free life be of aid while your alive, how you treat others is the way in which you are judged after you die. In Hinduism everyone is seen as a child of god and is expected to be treated equally. This creates a family like relationship between all humans on earth. In addition it creates the idea that when there is a conflict it is not just a conflict, it is a conflict between your brothers and/or sisters. There is much less of a chance that someone will mistreat their family than mistreat a stranger. Much like in Christianity Hinduism has the idea that you should treat your enemies well. The Gita states, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who mistreat you.” Once again I see this idea as one that is hard to play out. Overall Hinduism teaches you to treat everyone equally and respectfully.







Islam: In today’s society the Islamic religion is usually associated with conflict, hatred, and violence but, contrary to many beliefs, the religion is rooted in treating all with equality and love. The Koran says, “Show them (people) kindness and deal with them justly.” Believers of this religion are taught to see all as equal especially those who practice religion because everyone essentially worships the same god. These ideas are further enforced by the idea that Allah will know the good things that you do and that he loves “the doers of justice” (Koran). The idea of justice is very relative; it could be that what one believes as just is very different from another persons view. This is what I believe to be a cause of conflict. If someone believes that what they are doing right, even if it is not right by societies standards, and they are being taught that their god will love them for it, they will do it. But this is balanced out by the idea that you should only help others in goodness and piety not in sin or aggression. But even still Muslims are supposed to treat others, as they would like to be treated.



Compare and Contrast:

Christianity and Hinduism- One of the largest similarities that I saw between Hinduism and Christianity was the idea that you should forgive your enemies and treat them well. Although they are worded different in the Bible and the Gita the general idea is the same. One of the largest differences between these religions is that in Hindu conflict has a very large spiritual connection where as Christianity does not. In Hinduism conflict has many spiritual references and directly affects someone’s after life. Another difference is that the Hindu religion recognizes that violence is unavoidable while in Christianity you should abstain from it at all costs. One example I read while searching Hinduism is that even a farmer causes violence and conflict when he is plowing because he is hurting worms and other insects. You can cause conflict and violence without recognizing that you are doing so and these types of conflict are weighed differently than intentional conflict is.

Islam and Christianity- One similarity between Islam and Christianity is the idea that when you do something good and avoid conflict you will get rewarded for it whether it be during your time on earth or during the after life. Also it is believed by both religions that when you do this deed Allah or God will recognize it and remember it. While both religions recognize that you should treat others equally and with respect Islam believes that you should treat others who believe in god better while Christianity has no reference to treating a specific group better. Islam still believes in equality to all but people who believe in god should be treated extra well.

Hinduism and Islam- Hinduism and Islam have many similarities and many differences when it comes to the topic of conflict and how you should treat others. In Hindu and in Islam it is believed that everyone is from the same god and worships the same god. Another similarity between these two religions is their ideas on how to treat other people. Just like in Christianity you should treat everyone with respect but Islam and Hindu believe that there are certain people who you should be partial to. In Hinduism it is people who are faithful and helpful and in Islam it is those who believe in God. Even though in Hinduism there is a strong belief in equality you should not judge someone with the same standard as you judge yourself or as you judge others because “basic unity in variety is the pain of the creator” (Gita). Hinduism and Islam seem to be the two most similar religions.



There are not many emerging themes that I found. Religions may have different creation stories, or different holy texts, but the underlying themes are the same; you should treat others with respect and with equality and abstain from conflict whenever possible. I do understand that this is a very brief section but religions really do have similar morals. In their most basic forms religions are almost identical.



Knowing all of this information made me wonder why, even though religions teach you to view others as equal and to respect them, there is still conflict between religions? Conflicts between religions or conflicts that center on religion are value conflicts. Unlike resource conflicts that can be solved with compromise, value conflicts have no clear answer, they “entail strong judgments of what is right and wrong, and parties believe that there cannot be a common ground to resolve their differences” (//Religion and Conflict// by Luc Reyschler). Also religions are a very personal part of people’s lives and when something or someone starts to question that it is like questioning their existence. Many people view their religions as superior to others and reject the religious live of others.

Throughout this project I learned a lot about religions and the conflict and violence that is started by them. I also learned how holy texts talk about conflict and how you should treat others in order to avoid conflict. This topic is very relevant to today’s society because many of the conflicts in the modern world revolve around religions and people interpretations of religions. The largest connection that I made was that it is not the religion that fosters hate and conflict it is the people that worship it. Religion is a way to separate people, much like race was during the 1800-1900, it is a way for people to judge and discriminate against others.



Bibliography:

//BibleGateway.com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 100 Versions and 50 Languages.// Web. 04 Dec. 2010. .

Brahm, Eric. "Religion and Conflict." //Beyond Intractability - More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict//. Nov. 2005. Web. 02 Dec. 2010. .

"Enslavement of the Israelites." //THE BRITISH LIBRARY - The World's Knowledge//. Web. 04 Dec. 2010. .

"Gita Verses." //Philosophy,metaphysics of Bhagavad Gita;meditation Techniques,about False Gurus,reincarnation, Karma,Krishna,Hinduism.// Web. 02 Dec. 2010. .

"Human Conflict and the Solution of the Gita." //DRKVC.org//. Web. 1 Dec. 2010. . Miller, Dave. "Armed Conflict, Violence, and the Quran." //Apologetics Press//. Web. 1 Dec. 2010. .

Pifer, Gary D. "How Long Were the Israelites in Egypt?" Web. 5 Dec. 2010. .

Reycher, Luc. "Religion and Conflict - Luc Reychler." //Welcome to George Mason University//. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. .

"The Koran." //The Koran//. Web. 3 Dec. 2010. .