Religion, Extreme Beliefs, and Radicalisation

Four views on the relation between religion and radicalization

1. religion is explanatory irrelevant for radicalization

2. religion is a cause of radicalization

3. religion as medium of expression of radicalization

4. religion is a moderator for radicalization

Three questions:

1. What is the contingent, empirical relation between monotheism and fundementalism?

2. Is there a theological relation that predisposes monothesists towards radicalism?

3. Is there monotheistic resilence potential towards radicalism

Religion

• Beliefs that unite in themselves a moral community

  • Church, jewish community

• The feelings, acts and experience of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider divine

• Experiences and feelings, not always something sacred

• Monotheism and monolatry

• You devote yourt life to a single god

• One god is worthy

• Fundimentalism as essentially constested concept

  • Concept of freedom and liberty

  • Jesus christ is divine

Understand fundimentalism with three Stereotypical properties

• Against modernity

  • Against certain parts of modernity

  • Equal rights agains men and women

  • Find them thretening and argue against or reject

• Itself modern

  • Highly modern

  • Seeking the fundimental, the things you cannot doubt

  • What can i not be mistaken about

  • Very modern project

  • Usin siphisticated media

  • Videos of isis

• Narrative and dualism

  • White caucation europe

  • World without sin

• Kinds

• Fundimentalism as family resemblance

Terrorism

• Terrorism as family resemblance

• The use or threat of violence to reach a political purpose

Radicalisation

• The process where somethin g moves from the moderate to the extreme

• Can be a long or wuick process

• The relation between fundamentalism and terrorism

• Radical conspiracy theorising

  • The big picture in terms of conspiracy

• Extremism

• Fundamentalism

• Fanaticism

• Terrorism

• All of them overlap but are not identical

Religion and religious ideology are irrelevent when explaining radicalization

• Religion and ideology maybe not that important to explain behaviour

• Problem of the few

• Extremists dont mention or even deny te relevance of religion and ideology

• More reasosn instead of religious reason

  • Taking revenge

  • Violence or radicalization does not have that much to do with it

• Lot of behaviour that is not violent, more frequent

Religion as cause of terrorism and fundimentalism

• If you only believe in one god, look at the testament then you might believe in more

• Monotheasm provides terrorsim

• The law of that god will be more important than the law of the democracy

• That can lead to horrendous actions

Religion as medium of expression

• Expressing ones ideology

• If you believe in one god you can interpreate what goes on in reality

• One god fights the evil

• You will interpreate reality of this cosmic concept

Religion as moderation variable instead of independent or dependent variable

• Influences ones behaviour

• Feel guilty, what am i dping with my life not helping these people

• Moderating variable

• Specific radical narratives in the religions that operate on daily life experiences

• Guilt, discrimination

What is religiosoty?

• The 4 idea is resit

• Secular bias

• Philosophy of religion

• People have misunderstood religosoty

• Think of it as an ideaology

• It comes woth certain beliefs but has to do with dedications

• What it is to be religious we lose it to beliefs

Prevelance - In christianity

• Roman catholist

  • Not prevelent at all

  • Hard to reconcsile

  • Little fun

  • Conservatism about gender roles and christianityu

• Eastern orthodox

• Rise in fundimentalism and extremist

• Patriarchy

• Protestanitism

In hinduism – rise in fundamentalism

RSS

• Social movement

• Hindu identity – ethnic identity

BJP

• Current political party

• Hindu vs muslim

• Classiv Gender roles

Secular version

• Richard Dawkins well known for his athism

• Scientism – the view that only science give the answers

• Market capitalsism

• Secular terrorist movements

The theology of monotheism

• Belief in absolute truth

• Belief in one god

• Marxism. – says how soviety functions, others with different perspectives are missing out

• Exclusive soteriology

• Values

• Real intentions not in beliefs but in Texts

• Tenakh

• New testament – women need to be quiet and give birth, sexism against women

• Quaran – violence agains women