When I think about the reason for modern conflict in this world, I usually think about either land grabs or wars over race. At the same time, I’ve always known through my studies that some of the most ruthless battles in history have been fought over religion. Groups wish to flaunt their ideological supremacy over others in the name of a mystic being to take accountability for the dumb decisions that they make. This is a tale as old as time. Honestly, it’s why Catholicism isn’t for me.
One of my colleagues just returned from a trip to Africa. They were in a different country than the one that they usually spent time in or the one that they were from. In this country, American IP addresses were largely locked. This led to us to discussing geopolitics vs. religion.
There are approximately 50 countries in Africa. Both within and beyond these borders exist thousands and thousands of different groups of people with different lanuages, norms, and customs that existed far before any man-made borders separated them.
With so many unique variations of life in a single place, the commonality that bonds is belief in a higher power. This can also be the commonality that destroys.
I knew this to be true in more reported on places such as Israel, given theological knowledge, historical knowledge, and a pair of eyes. As three religions all have significant ties to that region, they would naturally feel strongly about it.
I learned that in Africa, the lines of conflict are much closer to religious ties than any national or tribal ones, and that Christianity vs Islam is the cause of much of the unrest. This surprised me given the imperiality of the Americans, and my American citizenship jades how the information of the world is presented to me.
My only wish for the people of the world regardless of ideological system is to realize that no truly beneficent being would ever call upon someone to take the life of another, human or deity. Even what separates and categorizes people in life isn’t as different as we would think. Good people exist all over the world the same way that bad ones do, so find the good ones.
Christopher Sauer 