Religious
Issues
Secularism and Theocracy
 Secularism
 Movement away from control of
life by a religion
 Secularists are often associated
with being indifferent to religion
or rejecting it all together
 Many Western democracies
have secular principles, formally
declaring the separation of
government and religion
 Theocracy
 Government run by a religion
 Existed in the former
government of Afghanistan
 Run by the Taliban
 Group of fundamentalist
Muslim who controlled all
aspects of life for the
Afghani people
 Today: Iran
Interfaith vs. Intrafaith boundaries
 Interfaith boundaries
 Divide space between two or
more religions
 Intrafaith boundaries
 Divide space within one religion,
often among denominations
Interfaith Conflict
Place
Interfaith boundary Conflict
China
(Tibet)
Tibetan Buddhism
and Atheism
The atheist Chinese government is destroying Tibetan
Buddhist monasteries. Trying to suppress the religion
and assimilate the people
Nigeria
Islam and Christianity
Islam prevails in the northern region while Christianity
and local religions prevail in South. Lead to powerbased tensions for government control.
India
Hinduism and Sikhism
Sikhs in the NW state of Punjab demand autonomy
from the Hindu-controlled government of India
India and
Pakistan
Hinduism and Islam
Pakistan was established as a Muslim state in 1948.
Pakistan and India are fighting over territory called
Jammu and Kasmir
Former
Yugoslavia
Christianity and Islam
In the Yugoslavian civil wars of the 1990s, Serb leader
Slobadan Milosevic tried to kill or evict the Muslim
population in Bosnia and other Serbian controlled
lands in the region
Palestine
(Modernday Israel)
Judaism and Islam
*Christians too
For centuries, Jews and Muslims have fought for
control of Palestine. This fight intensified after the
creation of Israel following World War II.
Intrafaith Conflict
Place
Intrafaith Boundary
Conflict
Iraq
Islam:
-Sunni Islam
-Shiite Islam
After the fall of the largely Sunni government
controlled by Saddam Hussein, both Sunnis and
Shiites are warring for control of the newly
forming political landscape
United
States
Christian:
-fundamentalism
-moderate
Christianity
Christians have conflicted in U.S. (and
worldwide) over political-cultural issues such as
homosexuality, evolution, and abortion. In some
cases, violent tactics have been used.
Northern
Ireland
Christian:
-Protestant
-Catholic
British Colonialism deposited large numbers of
Protestants in traditionally Catholic Northern
Ireland. Has caused violent conflicts between
the two groups in the regions.
Religion vs. Government Conflict
 Religious groups may oppose
government policies seen as
promoting social change
conflicting with traditional religious
values
 Islam has particularly been affected
by a perceived conflict between
religious values and modernization
of the economy
 Hinduism has also been forced to
react to new non-religious ideas
from the west
 Buddhism, Christianity and Islam
have all been challenged by
Communist governments that
diminish the importance of religion
in society
Religion vs. Social Change
 Taliban vs. Western Values
 Taliban rose to power in
Afghanistan in 1996
 Taliban means “religious students”
 Once in control of government,
the Taliban imposed strict laws
inspired by Islamic values as the
Taliban interpreted them
 Banned:
 western “leisure activities”
 TV and Internet
 Homosexuals buried alive,
prostitutes hung in public,
stoning for adultery
 Taliban believed they had been
called by Allah to purge
Afghanistan of sin and violence
 Hinduism vs. Social Equality
 Hinduism has been strongly
challenged since the 1800s
 English Colonization
 Issue is caste system
 Until recently castes and
subcastes were part of rigid
system
 Lack of interaction
 Problems
 Neglect of untouchables
 Economic system
 Caste system has been
considerably relaxed in recent
years
 Legally abolished
“untouchable” caste
 Consciousness persists
Religion vs. Communism
 Soviet Union
 Orthodox Church
 Russian orthodox church of
Russia since 1721 C.E.
 Marxism the official “doctrine”
with Bolshevik revolution in
1917
 Religion an “opium of the
people” – Karl Marx
 Eliminated the official
church 1918
 Buildings nationalized
 Beliefs persisted, although
knowledge decreased
 End of communism = revival of
religion
 Islam
 Main religion in Central Asian
countries
 Also dominated by U.S.S.R.
 Difficulties applying Islam to
government
 Buddhism vs. SE Asian countries
 Buddhist hurt by the Vietnam War
 Both sides destroyed and
vandalized shrines
 Many Buddhists immolated
themselves to protest the
policies of the South
Vietnamese government
 Current communist governments
have discouraged religious
activities and permitted
monuments to decay
 Angkor Wat – Cambodia
Religion vs. Religion
 Rise of fundamentalism has led to
more intense religious conflict

Def: literal interpretation and strict and
intense adherence to basic principles
of religion (or branch, denomination,
or sect)
 In a world increasingly dominated by
a global culture and economy,
religious fundamentalism is one of the
most important ways a group can
maintain a distinctive cultural identity

A group convinced that its religious
view is THE correct view may spatially
intrude upon the territory controlled by
other religious groups
 Sharia law- the main reason some
Muslims oppose any government
law is that it is not straight from the
Quran.
Religion vs. Religion
 Northern Ireland
 Most troublesome religious
boundary (intrafaith) in Western
Europe is in Ireland
 Republic of Ireland is 87% Roman
Catholic
 Became independent in 1937
 North Ireland is part of United
Kingdom and is 46% Protestant
and 40% Roman Catholic
 Voted to stay in the United
Kingdom
 Protestantism a BIG reason
 Conflict
 Catholics have been victimized
by discriminatory practices, such
as exclusion from better jobs and
better schools/
 Demonstrations began in 1968
 Since then 3000 have been
killed on both sides
 A small # of Roman Catholics
joined the IRA (Irish Republican
Army)
 Militant organization
dedicated to achieving Irish
national unity by any means
 A small group of protestants
joined the UDF (Ulster Defense
Force)
 Most are willingly to live
peacefully, extremists are the
issue
Religious Wars in Middle East
 Conflict in the Middle East is
among the world’s longest
standing and most intractable
 Jews, Christians, and Muslims have
fought for 2,000 years to control
Jerusalem and the region around
it.
 Claims
 Jews
 “promised land”
 Major events of development
 Forced to leave, Diaspora
 Christians
 Consider it “Holy land”
 Major events of Jesus' life,
death and resurrection
 Most inhabitants accepted
Christianity during Roman
Occupation
 Muslims
 Widely practiced in region
after 7th century
 Jerusalem is 3rd holiest city
 Where Muhammad
ascended into heaven
Crusades
 7th century C.E. Muslims captured
most of Middle East
 Arab army moved west into North
Africa and eventually invaded
Europe at Gibraltar in 711 C.E.
 Conquered Iberian peninsula
 Stopped in France by Charles
Martel and Battle of Tours 732 C.E.
 To the east, Ottoman Turks
captured Eastern Orthodox
territory and Constantinople in
1453 C.E.
 Advanced into Southeast Europe
 Into present day Bosnia and
Herzegovina
 European Christians launched
Crusades as an effort to
“recapture” the Holy Land from
Muslims
 150 year period
 First crusade 1099- captured land
 Second crusade 1187- lost land
 Sixth crusade 1229- peace treaty
 Seventh crusade 1244- lost land
Palestine
 Ottoman Empire controlled Palestine
for four centuries

1516- 1917
 After WWI, Ottoman Empire
dismantled and Britain took over
Palestine
 1947
 After WWII, the United Nations voted to
partition Palestine into two
independent states
 One Jewish, one Muslim
 British withdrew in 1948
 Next day, Arab neighbors declared
war on Israel
 Armistice signed 1949 that divided
control of Jerusalem
 Old city part of Jordan (Muslim)
 Newer part of city part of Israel
 Not allowed to visit Shrines
Israel
 1956, 1967, 1973
 Three more wars with Arab
neighbors
 Most significant 1967 – six day war

Israel captured territory

West Bank (from Jordan)

Jerusalem

Golan Heights (from Syria)

Gaza strip and Sinai peninsula
(from Egypt)
 Israel returned Sinai to Egypt and
Egypt “recognized” Israel’s right to
exist

Peace treaty signed 1979

“Camp David Accords”

Egypt’s President assassinated by
extremist Muslims

Successor carried out Treaty
Perspective: Palestinians

After 1973 Palestinians emerged as Israel’s
prime “opponent”

Egypt and Jordan renounced claims to the
Gaza strip and the West Bank and recognized
Palestinians as legitimate rulers of these
territories


Palestinians saw themselves as legitimate rulers
of Israel









People living in West Bank, Gaza, and East
Jerusalem in 1967
Citizens of Israel who are Muslim
People who fled from Israel after the 1948-1949
war
People who fled from West Bank or Gaza after
1967 war
Citizens of other countries, especially Jordan,
Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia who
identify themselves as Palestinians



10% of West Bank population
Palestinians regard this as a hostile act
To protect settlers, Israel has military control
over most of the West Bank
PLO (Palestinian Liberation Org)

5 groups consider themselves Palestinians

After capturing West Bank in 1967 Israel
permitted building of more than 100
settlements in the territory
Coordinates fight for Palestinians
Led by Yassir Arafat until death in 2004
Palestinians not satisfied with territory or
power they have received from Israel
 Palestinian authority is a limited form of
government allowed by Israel in West
Bank and Gaza
 Palestinians are denied rights
Palestinian divisions

The people have been divided by a struggle
for power
 Fatah party
 Willing to recognize Israel in return
for territory
 Hamas party
 Will not recognize Israel
 Considered Terrorist organization
Perspective: Israelis
 Israel sees itself as a very small country
with a Jewish majority surrounded by a
region of hostile Muslim Arabs
 After armistice in 1949, Israel was
allocated most of Coastal Plain

 To deal with neighbors, two elements
of landscape are especially
meaningful
Country’s pop centers close to
international borders making them
vulnerable to attack
 Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem
 Other issue is landforms
 Northern half of Israel is a strip of land
50 miles wide between Med. Sea
and Jordan River
 Three parallel regions
 Coastal plain
 Series of hills
 Jordan River valley

Jordan took most of hills between plain
and Jordan Valley
 Called West Bank (of Jordan River)
 Used as a defense position for
attacks on Israel
 Farther north Syria controlled
highlands east of the Valley called
Golan Heights
 Israel captured territory in 1967 war to
stop attacks on lowland population
concentrations
Still has military control today
 Attacks by Palestinians have
continued

 Division within Israelis
 Some wish to make compromises with
Palestinians
 Some recently a majority have
supported a construction of a barrier
to deter Palestinian attacks