Is Religious Violence Really a Battle for God or an Expression of Deep-rooted Socio-Political Dissatisfaction and Divide in society?

Résumé

Our contemporary world is being impeded by violent religious conflicts in the name of God. Such conflicts are becoming the hallmark of many countries of our contemporary world with devastating consequences. The aim of this paper is to highlight the menace of such conflicts enquiring if there are much deeper trepidations than religion that keep triggering the so-called religious conflicts. It is not infrequent to hear of violent conflicts between Muslims and Christians, Muslims and Buddhists or one religioussect against another. Moreover, the declaration of global Jihad (Islamic religious war), Islamic Caliphate or Christian crusades by religious extremists in a modern world of diversity are flustering. Thus, is modern human civilization being threatened by violent conicts, wars, and socalled religio-political terrorism? Is religion the true motive for the incessant skirmishes for instance in Africa (northern Nigeria), some part of the Middle East and Asia? This article seeks to unearth the clandestine causes of these so-called religious conflicts, enquiring if religion is the principal cause of such violence and offering some conclusive suggestions.