Religion and Conflict in Society

🌟Religion is a source of conflict in society. Evaluate this view.🌟

The question invites candidates to consider issues arising from this idea that religion is a source of conflict in society. Both functionalist and Marxist theories, in ways that differ to some extent, claim that religion plays a key role in maintaining harmony in society. However, some sociologists have argued that this view overlooks the many historical and current examples of where religion appears closely associated with wars and other conflicts around the world. Different forms of conflict linked to religion may be examined in good answers. This might include sectarian conflict, religious wars, divisions within particular faiths/religious organisations, conflicts between church and state. Evaluation is likely to draw contrasts between the view that religion is a source of conflict and the ideas of those theorists (functionalist, Marxists) who see religion as a conservative force in society. Candidates might also question the extent to which conflict occurs within particular religious organisations/faiths, and also examine the role played by religion in promoting solutions to social conflicts.

🌟Indicative content🌟

🌟For:🌟

💥 Functionalist and Marxist theories that emphasise the supposed role of religion in promoting social order appear to downplay the potential for divisions between religious groups to act as a source of conflict. This seems to be a major lacuna and one which perhaps undermines the credibility of claims that religion makes a significant contribution to social order.

💥 There are numerous examples of bloody conflicts and extreme persecution and unrest in which religion appears to have played a part. Conflicts between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland and between Hindus and Muslims in India, are just examples of this.

💥 Conflicts based around religious divisions are rarely short💥lived; they often run on in a society for decades and, in some cases, centuries. Hence, it is not as if religious conflicts can be written off as a minor exception to what functionalists and Marxists see as the normal role of religion in helping to maintain social order.

💥 Whilst it is true that the values of peace and harmony are central to most religious teachings, it is not always the case that organised religions set out determinedly to avoid conflict or to help maintain the status quo. Liberation Theology, for example, is a concerted effort by a committed group of priests in Latin America to challenge oppressive political regimes and press for social changes that would help alleviate poverty and exploitation.

💥 Weber’s study of the role of Protestantism in the rise of capitalism illustrates how, at certain points in history, religion may be a force driving social change and opposition to the status quo, being a source of conflict between the old and the new order.

🌟Against:🌟

💥 In most conflict situations, including those where religious divisions are fueling the unrest, organized religions are also often seeking to be part of the solution, seeking out ways of resolving differences and making overtures of reconciliation.

💥 Successful capitalist economies (US, UK, Germany, Japan) have often enjoyed long periods of relative stability within their own borders where divisions such as those between employers and workers are managed harmoniously for the most part. Marxist sociologists may be right in arguing that religion has made a significant contribution to achieving this level of integration and stability. This suggests that just as there is evidence to show that religion may sometimes help trigger social conflict, there is also a significant weight of evidence to support claims that religion promotes social order.

💥 Max Weber rightly warned against making sweeping generalizations about the contribution that religion makes to society. He recognized that the role of religion can vary across time and between societies, and that not all religions have the same impact on people’s thoughts and behavior. In some situations, Weber said religion could be a source of social change, in others it may act as a conservative force or a catalyst for division and confrontation. This is a more nuanced way of thinking about the role of religion than the one presented in traditional functionalist and Marxist theories of religion.