Have we entered an age of religious extremism?

Résumé du document

For many years, and especially since the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11th, public discussion has focused concern on religious extremism. Manifestation of extremism can be bigotry and intolerance, excessiveness, or transgression of defined limits by a particular group of people claiming allegiance to their religion. Extremism can be inter-religious (i.e., directed against different religious communities) or intra-religious (within the same religion). As Abdelfattah Amor, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance says, "no religion is free from extremism", which means extremism, can be found in Islam, Christianity or Judaism, even though we tend to stigmatize Islamic extremism much more. To what extent can we assert that there is a rise of religious extremism today? How can we explain this outbreak?

Extraits

[...] Have we entered an age of religious extremism? For many years, but especially since the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11th, public discussion has focused concern on religious extremism. Manifestation of extremism can be bigotry and intolerance, excessiveness, or transgression of defined limits by a particular group of people claiming allegiance to their religion. Extremism can be inter-religious (i.e., directed against different religious communities) or intra-religious (within the same religion). As Abdelfattah Amor, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance says, religion is free from extremism”, which means extremism can be found in Islam, Christianity or Judaism, even though we tend to stigmatize Islamic extremism much more. [...]

[...] Those new beliefs constitute a religious phenomenon which is booming today. They attract many people in very different fields: astrology, clairvoyance, reincarnation, spiritualism, telepathy, neo Buddhism, neo Hinduism, New Age Those movements tend to forge la carte” religions. Like extremism, which tends to suggest a very excessive and often false conception of religion, those movements make up new beliefs based on traditional religions. For instance, neo Hinduism has almost nothing to do with Hinduism. Another trend which has developed a lot is the expansion of sects. [...]

[...] They are hard to define, but they appear as a fashionable alternative to traditional religions. Thus, in the USA, famous film stars like John Travolta and Tom Cruise proudly claim their membership to the Scientology Church. Most of new religious groups, especially in the United States, are lucrative and entrepreneurial: thus, many Protestant movements are merchandized and given media coverage. In a nutshell, religious extremism has increased in the world, any religion is concerned, and its effects are numerous; but the most serious extremisms are the political ones, as they base legislation on intolerance and discrimination towards minorities. [...]

[...] Their fervent enthusiasm has turned to obstinate zealotry: thus, in 2003, in France, some young Muslim girls were expelled from their school in Aubervilliers because they were wearing the chador in class, contrary to their parents' will. But there are Christian extremists, too. In the United States, thus, they are numerous and powerful. Regarding policy, God is invoked in everyday discourses, as a way to justify some ideological and political choices. According to recent studies, half of the American population believes literally in the Genesis account of creation. This creationism has led some extremist religious lobbies to deny Darwinism, and thus to compel biology lessons at school. Jewish extremism is strong, too. [...]

[...] The examples are numerous and can be found in every religion. Thus, religious extremism has increased a lot, on different levels (political and individual). This rise can be explained by the evolution noticed concerning religions. On the one hand, if extremism is so strong today, it is partly because the traditional moderate religions have declined a lot. This trend has been observed since a century, as the world has become more and more secular since then, which contributed to put human spheres apart from religious norms. [...]