Religious Conflicts and Religion

Running head: RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS AND RELIGION
Religious Conflicts and Religion
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1RELIGIOUS CONFLICT AND RELIGION
Religion forms an integral part of the lives of the individuals and as a matter of fact it
is seen that the behavior as well as the practices of the individuals are guided to a large extent
by the religions that they follow (Isaacs, 2016). Brubaker (2015) is of the viewpoint that the
machinery of religion contributes in a substantial manner towards the identity of an
individual and also towards the formation of their values or beliefs. As opined by Larsson,
(2017), since the traditional times the construct of religion has been used as a unifying factor
for the amelioration or the unification of the different entities of a particular society. In this
regard, it can be said that religion is a cohesive force and offers a plethora of benefits to the
society and also the individuals. However, history has at the same time shown that religion is
also one of the major reasons for numerous conflicts that the world and also the human
beings have been facing since the traditional times (Lindgren, 2017). This essay will analyze
the manner in which the religious conflicts are dictated to a large extent by the various
religions of the world.
Isaacs (2016) is of the viewpoint that the various religious conflicts have dominated
the history of the world since the ancient times and as a matter of fact that they have even
changed the course of the world in a significant manner. In this regard, the Crusade Wars
(1095 – 1291) which was fought by the members of the Roman Catholic Church for the
suppression of paganism, Islamic religion and others becomes an important one to note
(Hurd, 2017). As opined by Basedau, Pfeiffer and Vüllers (2016), it is true that these wars
had other inherent political motives however their motive was to suppress the other forms of
religion that the people of that time were resorting to. Another important example in this
regard is the religious conflict that the two religions of Islam and Hinduism had been facing
since the time of the Delhi Sultanate in the nation of India. Hurd (2017) has stated that the
adverse effects of these conflicts are not just limited to the religious sects, which are involved

2RELIGIOUS CONFLICT AND RELIGION
in the process but extent to the lives of the common people who had to bear the repercussions
of such conflicts.
Alles (2017) is of the viewpoint that one of the primary reasons for the various
religious conflicts is the inherent differences in the beliefs as well as the practices that the
different religions of the world demands its followers to practice. For example, in the
particular context of Islam it is seen that the followers have the liberty to eat the meat of cows
and buffaloes whereas these animals are considered to be sacred in the religion of Hinduism.
This and other differences in the practices and the beliefs of these two religions had given rise
to much conflict between the followers of these two religions. The movie “India Pakistan
Partition Documentary BBC” made by BBC is an important one in this regard which tries to
explore the major reasons for the religious conflicts that the nations of India and Pakistan
experienced during the time of their partition in 1947 (PeaceMongerSoul, 2018).
The documentary clearly states the British India had more than 255 million Hindus in
comparison to the 92 million Muslims who were mainly concentrated in the north-western
part of the nation (PeaceMongerSoul, 2018). Furthermore, it was seen that these people used
to live in a harmonious as well as congenial manner before the partition. However, it is
pertinent to note that the inherent differences in the practices and customs of these two
religions for the process of partition which inadvertently lead to the various conflicts that the
two nations faced (PeaceMongerSoul, 2018). Larsson (2017) is of the viewpoint that the
British rulers had not only used the religion of the people of India for ruling over them for
such a long period of time (200 years) but also for the various conflicts which lead to the
separation of the two nations in 1947. As opined by Brubaker (2015), despite the diplomatic
role played by the British rulers in the conflicts and also the partition the role of religion in
the same can in no way be denied. In this regard, mention also needs to be made about the