The Logic of Religious Violence

Abstract

The presence of religious violence in the Sikh community in India is studied to clarify the connection between religion & violence. The conventional explanations for Sikh violence -- political, economic, & social factors -- are discussed & ultimately rejected. An analysis of the speeches of militant Sikh Jamail Singh Bhindranwale is performed, demonstrating the theme of ultimate struggle against other ethnic groups & the Indian state. The extent of violent imagery in the Christian & Sikh religious traditions is noted; attention is directed to the domesticization of violent imagery in the Sikh religious tradition. It is asserted that religious movements portray their conflicts as ultimate, cosmic struggles to provide religious justification for their violent activities. Factors that have resulted in various religions' use of violence include the claim that cosmic struggles are actual historical events & remain present in the contemporary world & that such violence has cosmic & divine meanings for individuals who perform violent acts. J. W. Parker