Is faith-motivated activism a constructive force for change?
Yes. Faith is a significant catalyst for change because through the supported doctrines, it will be possible to persuade people to change. Nevertheless, faith cannot achieve change by itself because it requires human beings to engage in some work. Moreover, individuals must have clear goals and objectives that will encourage individuals to pursue the intended change (Islamov et al., 2020). Therefore, faith acts as a foundation of constructive change by challenging the current practices, beliefs, and values that members of society have acquired and integrated them as their way of life. Faith enable people to see the bad in what they have and generate the need to become better people.
At what point does the character of faith-motivated activism become extremist and terrorist?
Faith-motivated activism turns into extremism and terrorism when the people belonging to the religion are willing to harm others through violent behavior. Furthermore, the individuals tend to lack religious tolerance to people that exercise different faith from what they believe. Moreover, a religion whose doctrine promotes policies and laws that signifies intolerance among people of a different faith promotes terrorism and extremism based on religious beliefs (Wibisono et al., 2019). It is essential to note that every religion has the potential to lead to faith motivated extremism and terrorism since it does not emphasis on peaceful ways of solving differences among members of society.
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Does faith-based natural law justify acts of violence?
No. Faith-based natural law should never justify acts of violence against people who have different religious beliefs. Religious based faith should emphasize on the importance of tolerance among people of different faith and also teach believers about the alternative strategies they should consider when solving a conflict. Human life is sacred across religions and thus believers should be taught on the importance of respecting it and refrain from activities that inflict harm. Religious leaders must ensure that they exhibit leadership to their followers such that they avoid faith-motivated violence among members of society. The leaders in faith-based religions play an essential role in influencing the behavior of their followers and thus their guidance is essential.
Why do religious traditions that supposedly promote peace, justice, and rewards for spiritual devotion have so many followers who piously engage in violence, repression, and intolerance?
People engage in violence against their fellow human beings because they associate them with social injustices. Hence, religions and traditions believed to promote justice and peace in society attract several followers because people have the zeal to fight such injustices and live in a fair society. Nevertheless, the teachings that the followers acquire in their respective worshiping places can instigate violence, especially when some of the people acquire more in-depth perspective on injustices against them (McGregor et al., 2015). Moreover, the existing differences between one religious group and the other raises the need to engage in repression such that it will be impossible to fuel violence against other members of a society.
What, if any, policies should be adopted by law enforcement agencies to monitor religious institutions?
It is essential that the government comes up with a policy that will monitor and regulate religious activities such that faith-motivated violence will be suppressed. Nevertheless, implementing such a policy should be considerate such that it does not deny believers their constitutional right of having the freedom to worship. Denying people this freedom will be infringement of individual choices and it might lead people to develop some resentment towards the government and other involved parties. Subsequently, government agencies must ensure that they allow people to choose their religion even as they monitor and regulate religious institutions.
References
Islamov, Z., Rakhimjonov, D., & Nosirova, A. (2020). Religious Xenophobia as a Factor in Cause of Extremism and Terrorism. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation , 24 (Special Issue 1), 417–425. https://doi.org/10.37200/ijpr/v24sp1/pr201173
McGregor, I., Hayes, J., & Prentice, M. (2015). Motivation for aggressive religious radicalization: goal regulation theory and a personality × threat × affordance hypothesis. Frontiers in Psychology , 6 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01325
Wibisono, S., Louis, W. R., & Jetten, J. (2019). A Multidimensional Analysis of Religious Extremism. Frontiers in Psychology , 10 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02560
