03-06-2007, 10:03 PM
http://www.cultivasian.org/article/49/%3Cf...fontsize%3E.htm
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I would like to submit the following hypothesis for discussion: the claim that the use of religion for political ends is evil and provokes violence is an old cliché from Christianity. Within its theological framework, it makes perfect sense to accuse human beings of corrupting religion by abusing it for the satisfaction of their worldly desires. This corrupted religion then gives rise to conflicts, riots and violence. Such a story was embedded in the European common sense by the sixteenth century. It became especially popular in post-Reformation Britain to make sense of the Wars of Religion. The belief was that there was a pure primitive Christianity untainted by human hands, which is revealed by the biblical God as the one true religion. Reflecting this Godâs will for humanity, the true religion can bring only peace, harmony and happiness. However, human beings - sinful as they are and misguided by the devil - corrupt this pure religion and try to use it for their own worldly and political ends. Needless to say, evil priests and crooked politicians are the prime suspects.
Since the British believed that the traditions they encountered in India were instances of false religion, it was obvious to them they would find the same kind of demonic violence here. Hence, they saw all kinds of conflicts in India as the violence that inevitably results from the corruption of religion for worldly ends. In their eyes, traditional leaders became priests of the devil. Stereotypes emerged about cunning Brahmins and deceitful mullahs. Whenever violent riots occurred, the reason was obvious: such priests and politicians had deceived innocent believers into slaughtering each other in the name of religion.
In the process of colonial education, Indian intellectuals adopted this theological story from their colonial masters as an account about the âcommunal violenceâ inherent in Indian society. Tragically, this Christian experience of India was mistaken for a valid description of its society. The tragedy continues today. The colonial consciousness of Indian intellectuals prevents them from seeing that they reproduce a silly theological story about the corrupting influence of humanity on religion as though it were scientific truth. If we really want to understand the Gujarat riots and similar horrific events, we first need to get rid of such common-sense clichés from the West.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I would like to submit the following hypothesis for discussion: the claim that the use of religion for political ends is evil and provokes violence is an old cliché from Christianity. Within its theological framework, it makes perfect sense to accuse human beings of corrupting religion by abusing it for the satisfaction of their worldly desires. This corrupted religion then gives rise to conflicts, riots and violence. Such a story was embedded in the European common sense by the sixteenth century. It became especially popular in post-Reformation Britain to make sense of the Wars of Religion. The belief was that there was a pure primitive Christianity untainted by human hands, which is revealed by the biblical God as the one true religion. Reflecting this Godâs will for humanity, the true religion can bring only peace, harmony and happiness. However, human beings - sinful as they are and misguided by the devil - corrupt this pure religion and try to use it for their own worldly and political ends. Needless to say, evil priests and crooked politicians are the prime suspects.
Since the British believed that the traditions they encountered in India were instances of false religion, it was obvious to them they would find the same kind of demonic violence here. Hence, they saw all kinds of conflicts in India as the violence that inevitably results from the corruption of religion for worldly ends. In their eyes, traditional leaders became priests of the devil. Stereotypes emerged about cunning Brahmins and deceitful mullahs. Whenever violent riots occurred, the reason was obvious: such priests and politicians had deceived innocent believers into slaughtering each other in the name of religion.
In the process of colonial education, Indian intellectuals adopted this theological story from their colonial masters as an account about the âcommunal violenceâ inherent in Indian society. Tragically, this Christian experience of India was mistaken for a valid description of its society. The tragedy continues today. The colonial consciousness of Indian intellectuals prevents them from seeing that they reproduce a silly theological story about the corrupting influence of humanity on religion as though it were scientific truth. If we really want to understand the Gujarat riots and similar horrific events, we first need to get rid of such common-sense clichés from the West.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->