Religion, Communalism, Politics
Intro
Social differences & social divisions arise from religious differences
Many countries including India have followers of different religions
In Northern Ireland, even though most of the people are Christians, there are differences in the way it is practiced among the Catholics & Protestants
Religious differences are often take up by the political parties to get vote
Relationship between Religion & Politics
1. Gandhiji believed that religion cannot be separated from politics
By this he meant that politics should be guided by moral values taught by religions
2. Human rights groups in India say that religious minorities are the victims of most of the communal riots in our country
3. According to Women's movements Family laws of all religions discriminate against women
So they have demanded that the government take special steps to protect religious minorities of our country
So they have demanded that government should change these laws to make more equitable/just
Conclusion
People should be able to express through politics their needs or demands as a member of a religious community
The government should take steps to prevent discrimination based against religion
Politics in religion is not wrong as long as every religion is treated equally
Communalism
Communal politics is the use of religion in politics, where one religion is shown as superior to other religions
Communal Politics is based on the idea that religion is the main base of social community
Their interests are the same & that any difference they have is trivial or irrelevant
Communalism involves the thinking that followers of a particular religion must belong to a community
Communalism is a dangerous ideology that promotes the false belief that a religious group, has more differences with other groups than similarities
They believe that people of different religions cannot be part of the same social community
Forms of communalism in Politics
For the majority community it takes the form of majoritarian dominance & for the minority community it can take the form of wanting a separate political unit
- Political Mobilization on religious lines using sacred symbols, religious leaders, emotional appeal & plain fear to bring followers of a religion under a political party
There are many religious prejudices & stereotypes
- A communal person wants his own religious community to dominate politics
- The belief in the superiority of one's religion over all others
- Communalism can lead to communal violence, riots & massacre
India & Pakistan suffered some of the worst communal riots during the time of Partition