Religion and Violence: The Case of the Monotheisms

The philosopher Spinoza (1632-1677), whose life overlapped with the Thirty Years War between European Catholics and Protestants, wrote that “religious hatred is apt to be the bitterest hatred.” Religion plays a role in some of the conflicts that have troubled us in recent times, such as the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995; the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center; and the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Religiously motivated violence—or what appears to be that—manifests across religions, but in this class, we focus on the world’s three major monotheisms: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. What in the scriptures and theologies of these faiths might be cited in defense of violence? Are there religious rituals that explicitly or implicitly enact violence? What communal structures might set the stage for violence? What ethical justifications might there be for violence? Can there be religiously sanctioned just or holy wars? As we ponder these questions, we will also consider ways the religions push back on violence committed in their name.

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