Introduction to World Religions and Belief Systems

z
The Negative
Effects of
Religion
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Violence, Human Rights Violations, and
other Abuses of Power
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Violence, Human
Rights Violations,
and other Abuses of
Power

 Despite religion’s positive

contributions to society, it cannot be
denied that it can also cause great
harm.
 The apparent harmful effect of religion
is when its adherents of one religion
engage in violent actions against
adherents of other religion, or against
groups of people they consider a
threat to their beliefs.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

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Violence, PEOPLE WITH EXTREMELY

Human Rights CONSERVATIVE RELIGIOUS
Violations, and BELIEFS OFTEN ACT IN A
other Abuses VIOLENT MANNER.
of Power

RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE INCLUDES

ATTACKS ON INDIVIDUALS OR
COMMUNITIES, COMMUNAL
VIOLENCE, SUICIDAL ATTACKS,
AND TERRORISM.
 Violence, Human Rights Violations, and
z
other Abuses of Power

 Such violence can also be expressed by states

through the introduction and implementation of
repressive and discriminative policies.
 Religion has been used as an excuse to implement
atrocities such as mass killings, summary
executions, enforced disappearances, torture, sexual
violence, mass expulsions, enslavement, and
genocide.
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Violence, Human Rights Violations,
and other Abuses of Power

 History witness to several events that were

defined by extreme religious views and
violence.
 Perhaps the most famous examples of
violence perpetrated in the name of religion
are Crusades, the early Muslims
conquests, the Inquisition, and the
Salem Witch trials.
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Violence, Human Rights Violations, and
other Abuses of Power

 Religious violence, however, is not restricted o

Christians and Muslims; there have been
examples of Buddhists engaging in violence
and even war, despite Buddhism being known
for espousing peace.
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Violence,  Muslim communities continually face the issue of

Human Rights violent acts which target individual Muslims who
Violations, have been branded as apostates, or those who

and other have abandoned he faith.

Abuses of  Some Muslim communities believe that apostates

are to be put to death.
Power
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Violence, Human Rights Violations,
and other Abuses of Power

 Religion is also a factor in the plight of

indigenous peoples, as many
indigenous communities are often
subjected to violence or abuse due to
their religious beliefs.
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Violence,
Human Rights  Christianity became significant instrument by
Violations, which European colonizers were able to
and other pacify the natives and place them firmly
Abuses of under their authority.

Power
 z
Violence, Human Rights
Violations, and other
Abuses of Power

 There are also several

cases of religious
organizations inflicting
harm on their own
members.
 One such case was the
1978 Jonestown Massacre,
where members of a
religious movement were
convinced by their leader to
commit suicide.
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In 1993, members of a religious
Violence, group called the Branch Davidians
Human Rights engaged in a stand-off with members
of the police in the state of Texas in
Violations, and the US.

other Abuses
of Power
The conflict resulted in the deaths of
76 individuals, many of them were
Branch Davidians.

Waco Siege
 z
Violence, Human Rights Violations, and
other Abuses of Power
 The emergence of
“doomsday” cults, whose
members believe in the
imminent end of the world
or the impending Day of
Judgement, has resulted
in several cases of
violence.
 In 1995, the Japanese
doomsday cult Aum
Shinrikyo, implemented
coordinated attacks in the
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Tokyo subway system.
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Violence, Human Rights Violations, and
other Abuses of Power

 In 1997, members of a
US-based doomsday
cult named Heaven’s
Gate committed
suicide.
 The group was a UFO-
based religion which
ascribed spiritual
beliefs to
extraterrestrial beings. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
z
z
Women’s Rights
and Gender
Issues
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Women’s
Rights and
Many religions have been
Gender criticized for advocating a
Issues patriarchal system which
marginalizes women.

The Catholic Church has

faced criticism for its stand
against women becoming
members of the priesthood.
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Conservative Muslims often Thus, in many Muslim countries,

implement restrictive rules against women are largely uneducated and
women such as strict dress codes are denied opportunities to work.
and certain prohibitions in activities.

Women’s Rights and Gender Issues

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Women’s Rights and Gender Issues

 One notable act of violence often associated with Muslims are

“honor killings”, where women and girls are murdered because
they violated religious or social prohibitions and have brought
shame to their respective families.
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Women’s Rights
and Gender Issues

 In India, acid
attacks against
people deemed
“untouchable” are
prevalent; these
acts mostly target
women.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
 z
Women’s Rights
and Gender Issues

 Another group that has faced

discrimination are lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, queer, and
intersex (LGBTQI) people.
 Many religions view them as living
defiance of religious doctrine.
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 Some LGBT persons who live in conservative

religious communities often experience
Women’s emotional and psychological issues such as low
Rights and self-esteem and depression.
Gender  This organization is known for their slogan
Issues “God Hates Flags”, and it has been deemed
as a group that fosters hate against gays, Jews,
and non-Christians.
Conflicts
between
Religion and
z
z

Science
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Conflicts between
Religion and Science

 Religion has often been

accused of hampering
scientific progress.
 The conservative nature of
many religions renders
them apprehensive to new
ideas and innovations.
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Conflicts between
Religion and Science

 During the 16th century, the

Polish mathematician and
astronomer Nicolaus
Copernicus published the
heliocentric theory, which
directly contradicted the widely
accepted notion that the Earth
was the center of the solar
system.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

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Conflicts between
Religion and Science

 Another scientist, Galileo

Galilei, faced persecution
for his studies into the
heliocentric theory.
 Galileo’s observation of
heavenly bodies led him to
confirm the truthfulness of
the Copernican theory, but
his pronouncements were
declared heretical by the
Catholic Church.

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Conflicts between
Religion and
Science

 The friction between

religion and science
continued to spark
controversies in the 20th
century.
 In 1925, the state of
Tennessee in the United
States passed the Butler
Act, which outlawed the
teaching of evolution in
public schools in the state.

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