Eleventh International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

A man stands at a street corner and warns of a coming disaster if the evils are not soon purged from society and faith restored. After days of standing on the corner, some video uploads, and popular interest, a network picks up the story. Soon after the nation falls into panic, riots begin, and politicians are threatened. The man is hailed as a prophet and his words taken to evince an imminent disaster. Soon after, the government is overthrown and the man set up as the leader. Shortly after, a strategy of systematic purging is adopted and a reign of terror begins. Although fictitious, this story is not without precedent. It is a platitude that religion - in the name of a deity or morality - motivates social and political change. But can the evils a religious leader observes justify acts of violence? Terrorism? To respond to these questions, I will examine Primoratz’s analysis of terrorism and his defense of patriotism. A weakness of his approach, I argue, is its sidelining of religious motivation.