Is religion a source of conflict?

Introduction

In many cultures, religion is a key element in education, while children learn to read and also taught basic beliefs. So religion is used as a further means of explaining the world to children. Sometimes this religious education is not accompanied properly trained to respect diversity. You can then conflicts with people of other religions and with a way of understanding the world differently from you. In many societies, religion is an important ingredient in the cultural identity, which serves to differentiate themselves from others. This is an essential element that has marked the development of the history of many nations and set traditions and cultural characteristics. But if that value is seen as exclusionary identity then we are facing a major source of conflict, and that religion can be used as a means to amplify the differences between human groups, or to justify the atrocities of violence, war and terrorism (Moorhead, 1860-1869).

Discussion

Religion, by its special features can lead to increased conflict and make it a difficult problem when the warring parties are fanatical. The example of the religious wars in Europe in the Modern Age. The bloody wars of religion, Christians of different confessions undertaken between the sixteenth and ravaged Europe and are an example of how religion can be an excuse for other interests (Miller, 126-135).

The causes of the clashes were the political and economic ambitions of the various European states, but the religious background could justify the aggression and more violent and ruthless war. For example, many German princes and kings and northern Europe saw in Lutheranism the perfect way to get rid of political control of the pope and his allies, and payment of taxes to the Catholic Church as well as a way to increase their properties and wealth to confiscate church property and land. Meanwhile, the Catholic kings of countries considered to struggle against the Protestants was a means of keeping under these territories.

There were many religious reformers throughout the Middle Ages. At that time religion served as a pretext to make a difference, new identities and justify the conflict. While these wars occurred throughout Europe during the modern era tried removed any religious difference within each kingdom (Korn, 141-149). All cases analyzed here do not lead us to deny, however, that religion can be found to play an entirely different function.

For example, the sociologist and philosopher Emile Durkheim in ...