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RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS AND THEIR OVERCOMING

M. Stetckevich, A.I. Strebkov, A. Sunami, S. Firsov

Abstract

The most important goal of this article is to define the notion of a religious conflict, to introduce a typology of religious conflicts, to analyze the factors of their genesis as well as the possible ways of their mitigation and overcoming. Using the methodology of comparative and content analysis, the authors came to the conclusion that religious motivation among the warring parties, and/or religious legitimation of violence could not be considered as the obligatory conditions for the assignment of conflict as religious one. The article contains the proposition of expanding of the category В«religious conflictВ». From the point of view of the authors, all cases of conflict situations, in which religion play the role of a separating factor, can be qualified as В«religious conflictsВ». This does not preclude the consideration of conflict also as a political, economic, ethnic, if there are grounds for this. The authors define a religious conflict as a phenomenon, in the process of genesis and development of which a religious factor is present, while the parties of conflict either have different religious orientation or tend to assert a religious/anti-religious world outlook as absolutely dominating, using suppression, legal or factual limitation of the rights of the adversary party. Approaches based on the concept of religion as a positive phenomenon, which В«spoiltВ» by the В«wrongВ» interpretations of certain sacred texts, or, on the contrary, as a negative phenomenon, necessarily produce the situation of conflict, seems to the authors of the article counterproductive. The possibility of appearance of religious conflicts will remain as long as religion exists as a phenomenon, due to its integrating/disintegrating function. At the same time, the development of tolerant potential inherent in religion, adoption of the principles of freedom of conscience in modern society, the transformation of religion from common cause into a private affair can significantly alleviate existing religious conflicts and prevent the emergence of new conflicts.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/SGEMSOCIAL2017/HB11/S01.024

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