De heilige outgroup

Abstract

There is much talk about religious violence in the media these days. However, the question remains whether the violence has actually been motivated by religion itself; are we really talking about religious goals here? And, isn’t the concept of religion too vague in the first place? Therefore; can we speak about religious violence at all? This thesis focuses on these issues, by trying to answer the question whether religion can be found guilty in producing violent activities. This has been done by discussing how a monotheistic religion can create and enlarge ingroup-outgroup differences and the influence these have on the development of violence. Many theories are being used to indicate how religion plays a basic role in determining who is ‘good’ and who is ‘bad’, and how social groups are being attached to religious dichotomies. The theories of scientists Appleby, Cavanaugh and Avalos, concerning the connection between worship and violence, are even more specific, for they are an attempt to explain the actual decision to start using violence. My theoretical framework is illustrated in the case of the Moluccan war, which lasted from 1999 to 2002. This case demonstrates how a conflict caused by economical and political problems led to a fierce battle in which religion was the motivation and legitimacy to fight, merely because of the interference of religion or religious elements. ‘De heilige Outgroup' is a thesis that tries to clarify that religion can both be used as a reason to start a conflict between an outgroup and an ingroup, as well as that it can be the actual reason for the realisation of violence.