Why is God Part of Human Violence? The Idolatrous Nature of Modern Religious Extremism
A central claim of modern Islamic extremists such as ISIS is that they are the only legitimate actors on behalf of God, which justifies their violence (however extreme). In this claim, a question arises: Why does violence need to be justified with reference to God/the divinity/the sacred (or, for ot...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2018
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| In: |
Does religion cause violence?
Year: 2018, Pages: 39-56 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Violence
B Girard, René 1923-2015 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | A central claim of modern Islamic extremists such as ISIS is that they are the only legitimate actors on behalf of God, which justifies their violence (however extreme). In this claim, a question arises: Why does violence need to be justified with reference to God/the divinity/the sacred (or, for others, with reference to the state or some form of ideology)? René Girard argues that human violence is invariably connected to some point of transcendent reference—what he calls “the sacred”—which is a projection and justification for scapegoating violence. This anthropological account helps to make sense of the false projections of modern religious extremists that concern a violent deity who commissions their actions. I review Girard’s anthropological account in this chapter to help understand modern religious violence, and aim to draw out some of its key points with reference to the question above.... |
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| ISBN: | 9781501333866 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Does religion cause violence?
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.5040/9781501333866.ch-003 |
