Is religious extremism good or bad ?
Name: Lee Yun Suk
11413104
Prof. VYAS Utpal
TA. NGUYEN
Religious extremism is neither good nor bad
In regard to religious extremism, many say that nonreligious people are better than religious people. However, contrary to those claims, not all religious activities are categorized as bad by society. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in March 2013, “While those with no religious affiliation are less negative than other U.S. adults in their assessment of this trend, only about a quarter of the religiously unaffiliated (24%) says it is a good thing that more people are not religious. About as many (19%) say it is a bad thing, and a 55% majority says it does not make much difference for society.” (Growth of the Nonreligious, 2013) As such, it depends on the definition of extremism and terrorism, as discussed in the following articles, (Religious extremism: The good, the bad, and the deadly). It can be said that religious extremism is neither good nor bad.
Firstly, According to article (Religious extremism: The good, the bad, and the deadly) because of their similarities to each other, there are confusions between religious extremism and terrorism. The differences between the two are the values they hold and the intention of the act. “Religious extremists are willing to murder because they embrace theologies that sanction violence in the service of God. They have no sympathy for their victims, because they view those victims as enemies of God.” (Iannaccone, L. R., & Berman, E. 2006) Religious sects are organized by internal scholarships which strongly contribute to the forming of their values.
In addition, Iann...
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Mouhamed Lemine Kettab. (n.d.). The main causes of extremism. Retrieved from http://zawaya.magharebia.com/old_zawaya/en_GB/zawaya/opinion/137.html
Roya R. Rad, MA, PsyD (2013.06.06). What Turns Ordinary People Into Religious Extremists?. huffingtonpost, Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roya-r-rad-ma-psyd/what-turns-ordinary-people-into-religious-extremists_b_3375890.html.
Sherkat, D. E. (2007). Religio and Higher Education: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. SSRC, Retrieved from http://religion.ssrc.org/reforum/Sherkat.pdf.
Shahbaz, A. (n.d.). Exterminating religious extremism. pakobserver, Retrieved from http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=229294.
*Growth of the Nonreligious. (July 2, 2013). PewReserch, Retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/2013/07/02/growth-of-the-nonreligious-many-say-trend-is-bad-for-american-society/.
Seeing countless news reports about terrorist attacks or attempts throughout the years, I now believe terrorism under the name of religion is a simple gateway to having authority over someone or the greed of power, thinking it sounds justifiable if you claim “it is an order of God”. As stated in the article Terrorism in the Name of Religion, “Religious terrorist groups often become cheap and effective tools for specific states in the advancement of their foreign policy political agendas”; religious terrorism can often be interpreted is a way to assert a group into one’s beliefs however like Richard and the article mentions, it is an excuse to fulfill a political agenda or go against the government
In Arthur Miller’s classic play The Crucible, the true events of Salem, Massachusetts in the late seventeenth century are written down with marginal changes to the original story. The witch hunt and witch trials that occurred during this time reflect many of Miller’s personal beliefs on certain themes. One such theme was extremism. Due to Miller’s own personal witch trial where he was unfairly tried and jailed as a communist during the Red Scare, his perspective on extremism is a valuable insight into the historical examples such as the Holocaust or other genocides, and what is happening in modern day with extreme religious groups willing to terrorize other nations. Throughout his play, Arthur Miller argues through certain events and characters that extremism is caused by unaddressed
Nguyen, Dung. The True Purpose of College and Higher Education. 2000. Delta Winds. Web. 15 April 2014
Even though the tradition is longer than the university, the Catholic college serves as a platform to maintain, communicate, and advance it. In Mary Ellen O’Donnell’s essay, she quotes Father Leo Ward from the University of Notre Dame, who claims, “Just as we reject the principle of divorcing faith and works, so we reject the principle and the practice of divorcing the life of faith and the life of study,” (O’Donnell 43). Meaning, Catholic universities aren’t disconnecting faith from their education. Specifically, these institutions have played a crucial role in the cultivation of the intellectual heritage. Today, most things are done through reason alone. The Catholic university’s role is to maintain the relationship between faith and reason. Even though, as what O’Donnell describes, The Catholic Intellectual can be seen as an oxymoron, the Catholic university is committed to keeping the tradition a part of their overall mission. More importantly, these institutions try and reinforce faith and reason to solve complex problems of the world, and by doing so, they are furthering the advancement of the living tradition. O’Donnell adds, “With the criteria of the Catholic intellectual tradition at the heart of their mission and identity, then Catholic universities and colleges bear much of the burden of keeping the tradition alive and encouraging its growth and development,” (O’Donnell 61-62). Because the need for both faith and reason in the world is so imperative, without Catholic colleges, the tradition’s chance to continue to be living would significantly
Burns, Thomas J. "Islam." Religion and Society. OU Campus' Dale Hall, Norman. 14 Apr. 2014. Lecture.
There are many knowledgeable books that introduce religions as well as specific religious traditions. However, students are naturally introduced to abstract methodological issues such as observer bias, rather than the religions themselves. If religions of the world are not approached with purpose and method, then students are likely to gain “stereotypes… of misinformation supplied by certain sectors of the media” (Chryssides & Geaves, 2014). Thus, in order to see how religion is lived in day to day life, one must “walk a mile in [the] moccasins [of religious people]” as Smart (1998) says. Therefore this essay will attempt to answer why it is important to study religion off campus and how this may challenge traditional understandings of religion.
Terrorism is used around the world to create fear and influence the public on political views (Siegel, 489). There are four views of terrorism including the psychological view, socialization view, ideological view, and the alienation view. A religious terrorist would most likely fit under the ideological view. In this view the terrorist feels the need to change a wrong opinion and believes that, because they are sacrificing themselves for something they believe so strongly in, it justifies the damage and harm done to innocent people (Siegel, 490). They use terror to create fear in anyone who opposes them and attract followers to their religion. In short, terrorism is widely used for political reasons but religion has been linked to the violence as well.
Extremism manifests itself dangerously in the Islam religion (Palmer, Monte, and Princess Palmer, 37). The Muslim religion has some laws and believes that no one should question their design, origin or application. Good people should punish immoral people in Islam religion without showing mercy to them. In Islam, human beings have no right to offer forgiveness to others that can easily lead to and create peace to oneself in the society. The unforgiving nature makes human rights groups in many ways try to change and support governments that try to overthrow Muslim extremist governments. Such an approach creates a war never ending between the Muslim governments and other governments that fight the extremist ideals. In East Africa, Somalia presents a case example by observing how the Government is not able to control the ever fighting and dreadful Al-Shabaab. The “Al-Shabaab” is an Arab name for Muslim youth who over the years try to use enforce extremist rulers in governing the country and hence controlling the resources. Muslim fighters and rebels arm themselves with arsenals they use to fight groups that oppose them by killing and torturing them. The al-Shabaab launches attacks that kill people and openly claim responsibility for the losses and the deaths they cause. They also punish members who commit sin using the retrogressive laws of the Quran on the people they label sinners. Other extremist
My philosophy of higher education is that thus far we have realized that the gift of sharing knowledge is one of the keys to success in our society. We have learned from so many great philosophers, scientist, and researchers that have fueled our knowledge in a vast variety subjects. The importance of passing on this knowledge and improving our society has shown to be important in human survival and our growth in the years to come. As the years pass and technology is getting more advanced, the need for higher education is steadily rising. In the past years, a bachelor’s degree was viewed as one of the greatest accomplishments of that time. Now in today’s standards, only having a bachelors degree will not suffice. Thus proving that higher education is the pillars for growth in humanity. Similar to my philosophy, I believe my Christian experience relates to my views of higher education. For instance, as Christians, we have learned that the keys to success is reading and learning from the Bible. Just as we have learned from past philosophers, the Bible provides Christians with knowledge to continue to walk in the path that God has paved for us to go to heaven. In addition, talking and communicating with God helps us in times of need. He is our teacher and supervisor providing us useful knowledge to succeed. From that guidance, it is our job to pass that knowledge to other Christians to grow in our faith. In both higher education and Christianity, our job is to pass our knowledge and faith to others to maintain and improve human survival for years to come. Moreover, in today’s society, there is a growing need for Christ centered learning. I believe that CBU offers that and more. By combining my Christian experience and philosophy of ...
The U.S. Department of State defines terrorism as, “The calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological”. Whereas the Belgium Red Cross says that terrorism is committed “for the purpose of intimidating the population, forcing a third party to act or destablishing or destroying the fundamental structures of a country or of an international organization”.
Yet not all Religious Fundamentalism can be categorised as both totalitarian and violent as they are not all involved in terrorism or violent protest but usually one or both. The overwhelming evidence does support this as Hindus and Muslims in the state of Gujarat partake in communal violence, the Amish can be debated using symbolic violence (Heywood, 2012, p. 305). This suggests that Religious Fundamentalism will always be linked to violence and totalitarianism, because of the majority's actions and principles. Works Cited Ball, T. And Dagger, R. (2009) Ideals and Ideologies: A Reader.
Fifty years ago this summer, in July 1967, a group of Catholic university presidents and administrators met at a retreat centre in Land O’Lakes, Wisconsin to discuss the future of Catholic higher education in the United States. That summit worked at developing a vision for Catholic higher education in response to the teaching of the Second Vatican Council in its decree Gravissimum Educationis. The summit produced a document at the country estate of Notre Dame University that effectively began a process that would distance Catholic higher education from the Church’s hierarchy. Universities had begun the process of separating themselves from their sponsoring dioceses and religious institutes.
Religion plays a tremendous role in society, history, literature, and current world events. Religion also shapes morality, politics, and life styles, and it is central to the lives and cultures of most people in the world. As our society becomes more and more integrated with religion and the number of students with various religious orientations and affiliations continue to increase, it becomes more crucial for students to understand and respect the beliefs and traditions of others through unbiased educational teaching and training.
In the world we are in today, every continent, city, and smallest village has some sort of belief set. Religious belief frequently has the most impact over societies with religion’s ability to mold social laws, boundaries, and sometimes hold entire sway over government systems. However, because religion is left to interpretation of its audiences, religion itself can only be as peaceful or as violent as its followers make it. When religious beliefs are paired with religious intolerance, and people willing to act on that intolerance, religious beliefs can take a turn towards violence, death, and destruction. Religious intolerance is being unwilling to tolerate another 's religious beliefs or practices
Abelman, R., & Dalessandro, A. (2009). Institutional Vision in Christian Higher Education: A Comparison of ACCU, ELCA, and CCCU Institutions. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 18(1), 84-119. Retrieved October 6, 2011 from http://library.gcu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=37208318&site=ehost-live&scope=site