Religion and Conflict Management in Community

Conflict is an unfortunate circumstance of most human experience yet there are certain conditions that lend to greater instances of conflict than others. Examining the religious and community-based factors that drive conflict up or in unique ways is a valuable research initiative since often times religion forms community and together they make up some of society’s most powerfully influential aspects. Religion and community are unified by their adversity to conflict for by definition in a conflict neither are as a strong or well managed as they are without. 

Religion is at times a benefit towards relationships in the community. Studies on shared religious affiliation have shown that this sometimes has the effect of lowering conflict in the community by building a positive relationship between couples (Lamber & Dollahite, 2006). When disparities exist, however, there is a strong possibility of marital discord. For instance, in one research design, it is measured that when a wife attends regularly a religious service yet thus husband does not that in that relationship conflict was 3 times more likely (Lamber & Dollahite, 2006). The healing powers of religiosity extend beyond couples relationships and into the communities. This finding is generalizable internationally as in South Africa a Peace Accord has been founded with, and only with, the religious community’s assistance. Beginning in September of 1991, the South African Peace Accord was drafted with the Regional Peace Committees to bring greater harmony and health to communities through the bridging of communal conflicts that have troubled South Africa for centuries. In the Accord, representation for communities was insured by the use of theoretically neutral religious and/or business leaders (Bremner, 2001). 

Even though religion has been used in South Africa to foster peace, often times religion is played to the disadvantage of communities, especially when they are negatively stereotyped in the media. Such is the case with the Islamic community and the way that they are portrayed in the media as an extremist terrorist (Savigny, 2016). For obvious reasons, these negative depictions can bring about disharmony in communities as religion is seen as a tool of violence and war rather than as peacebuilding utility. The fact however that they are so poorly represented in the media is itself a matter of religious conflicts many centuries in the making. In her Media, Religion, and Conflict, Heather Savigny writes of how competition between civilizations, economically and spiritually have fueled some of the most serious conflicts in the world today. Since the Cold War ended, Muslims have become the most urgent competitors in the world’s civilizations to the West’s Judeo-Christian principles that largely go unquestioned (Savigny, 2016). Western society has been dominated by Christian ideals since the fall of Rome when Christian values spread across the world. One of the chief aspects of Christian ideology has been the concept of ‘otherness’ for it is a teaching of Christianity that there those who are on board with the religion and ‘saved’ while the rest are damned (Savigny, 2016). 

This competitive style of differing worldviews is indicative of Christian conflictual management preferences. In Stephen Croucher’s “Muslim and Christian Conflict styles in Western Europe”, a study sample of almost a thousand Christian and Muslims in Europe were measured with self-reports to find what their conflict management style usually was. Intriguingly, and conversely to how they are shown in the news, the Muslims were usually inclined more to a compromising and obliging conflict style while the Christians have used a dominating style of social behavior (Croucher, 2009). These behaviors are specifically,  refer to the social relationships that each religious domination has yet since social relationships are precursors to the international ones these findings may bear much insight on how Muslims are shown by Christian media authority to be the threating enemies (Croucher, 2009; Savigny, 2016). For Christians to use their media power to build cohesiveness is a key aim discussed by Foltz and Foltz’s “Religion on the Internet: Community and Virtual Existence”. In their study analysis, the way that Christianity has used the internet to “hoist sail and catch God’s tidal wave” is discussed in regard to the online community Christians can have should they utilize the resource they deem given by the God (Foltz & Foltz, 2003, p. 321). On the internet, there is the possibility of bridging distances that previously divided churches with virtual technology. These are known as digital divides and the Vatican has called for its churches to work on addressing them so that solidarity may reign (Foltz & Foltz, 2003). With the virtual world, it is believed that the internet “has great potential for creating new communities that will foster global understanding and peace” (Foltz & Foltz, 2003, p. 324). 

My literature review tells me that I have a wide and thorough grasp of the concepts involved with religious cohesiveness and conflict. The wholeness of the perspective shown is a formidable strength my studies are showing already as the research moves from harmony in personal and social demographics, into conflict present and historical, and then to how harmony may be made global through the solidarity, the internet may have. In sum, religion is a construct that has the ability to tear societies apart while also offering a means for greater community and harmony. In relationships, religious similarity reduces conflict. In negotiations with dangerous factions, religion may be a harmonizing influence. Often religion is portrayed in the opposite way with Christian media yet this could be due to the domineering conflict styles of the Christian people as well as centuries of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ mentalities. As the age of the internet arrives, perhaps new bridges can be built as people virtually connect and find new things to share and less to fight over. These aspects of religious conflict, how they can personally bring harmony, historically have brought social conflict, and yet may be used to build community online, are the ones I shall endeavor to study. Provided that I find more sources on internet theory, religion, and conflict management, I believe that the research initiative will be a success and should support understanding of the world’s religions and how they still might find harmony despite endemic conflicts.

References

Bremmer, D., (2001). South African experiences with identity and community conflicts. Journal of Peace Research, 38(3). 

Croucher, S., (2009). Muslim and Christian conflict styles in Western Europe. International Journal of Conflict Management, 22(1). 

Foltz, F., & Foltz, F. (2003).  Religion on the internet: Community and virtual existence. Science, Technology and Society, 23(4). 

Lambert, N., & Dollahite, D., (2006). How religiosity helps couples prevent, resolve, and overcome marital conflict. Family Relations 55, 439-449. 

Savigny, H., (2016). Media, religion, and conflict. Routledge.