Namaste
Use of Violence by Religious Groups
(My article below was published in the Op-Ed section of
The Californian - one of the local newspapers in the Monterey area of California)Violence is an expression of fear and the need to assert power over a perceived threat. Those who invoke religion as their excuse to take such extreme measures feel threatened by whoever fails to validate their personal beliefs. Thus threatened and driven by fear, they deal with insecurity by responding with violence.
Religious affiliation represents connection with the Supreme Authority. It is this connection with authority that assuages the pain of those who are wretchedly insecure. Unfortunately, it is also this connection that allows them to usurp authority and invoke the name of the Supreme while serving a personal agenda.
This ironic inversion (or perversion) of authority is clear when we realize the primary lesson of religion is that of selflessness and subjugating personal desires in order to serve the Supreme. Islam, for example, means submission to the will of God. Bhakti, in Hinduism, is the path of selfless devotion -- serving God with no expectation of reward. In Christianity, devotees are taught to pray not for the fulfillment of personal desires but rather that God's "will be done on earth as it is in Heaven."
Faith in God's will is expressed by tolerance and patience. Violence is no other than the ultimate expression of fear and the lack of faith.
