Sunday, January 6, 2019

Religion and extremism



Extremism has been linked to religious thought and sometimes non-religious thought, that due to the large number of analysis and synthesis.  When people in a religion are allowed to fabricate and adopt semi-theories, and linked it to the origin sources in this religion, this necessarily leads to the creation of sub-trends in this religion.

These semi-theories are based on analysis and synthesis. They are not complete theories. They are a theoretical case derived from the analysis of texts and  re-synthesis  it in a "technical manner"  Then divide them into other groups so that sub-orientations emerge, becoming independent with the days, although they bear the name of the religion itself.  In many cases they become transmissible into inhumane situations.

Just like the river which divided into several branches, they built these new branches, where these branches in their waterways turned into sub-rivers, and after a distance they become an rivers, so these sub-rivers are no longer the same river.
  Although the spring, in the beginning is the only source, but those branches takes water from other sources in their new  flow, so that the strength of the main spring weaken in these  sub-rivers. That Due to the presence of other water sources, from different springs which flow into these sub-rivers.
This is exactly what happens in many religions. When a strange thought comes out of a religion and allowed this thought to create a direction, it inevitably will become an extremist movement that fights the origin religion and everyone who disagrees with it. Because extremism and fighting will become a means of sustaining the new thought.

In this sense, I believe that preserving religion’s  origin resource from any strange streams may come out of it, is the solution to prevent any possible extremism, because religion will be accountable to its community first and to the general society secondly, So any allowing to a new strange streams to come out of a religion,  that Inevitably leads, after a short period, to the inability to control  the catastrophic  extremism.

This is what happened in Christianity and Islam.

In Christianity, although there is no  violent extremism, but when  they weakened the church, through split the Orthodox mother Church , this led to schism which led to hundreds of schisms,   which this led to the inability to control the branches.

In Islam,  the different currents which had and still emerges, is result to different interpretations, sources, which  leads  to the emergence of high level of lethal extremist currents where  no longer can be controlled.

So,  analysis and composition which come out  from a the origins resource of  in a religion is inevitably leading to a tragic end.

By Fr. Spyridon Tanous

  

Editor: Fr.Spyridon Tanous Greek Orthodox Priest