In light of events in France in the past 24 hours, I hear people asking for a long-needed dialog about what is at the root of all of this. I thought about ot and I came up with this recitation straigh out of my head, raw and unembellished. I hope that you will find this to be helpful.
I recently read Robert Boston's book, "Taking Liberties: Why Religious Freedom doesn't give You the Right to tell Others What to do," about this very issue, focusing on the U.S. And the principle of the separation of church and state. I have been wrestling with this phenomenon since the early '70's with the beginning of the "Jesus Freak" movement, in which I saw some great intellectual talent leave the university to serve Jesus. It is these very people who have developed and worked up the "Dominionists" doctrines which fuel the religious encroachment on personal freedoms in the U.S. today.
However, and so sadly, we see these same types of things happening in the world elsewhere, looming like some worldwide "zeitgeist": ISIS (now saying that they will attack Russia as well), the Taliban in Afghanistan, and even Buddhist monks out slaughtering Rohingas (a Muslim group) in Myanmar. There is a panic in the world, a panic in which religious belief now trumps personal freedom and, as its most clear counterpart, prompts others into an objectification of the "other" as a "heathen, apostate, and even the devil himself" as a means to being able to slaughter others in the name of their faith. Now, in the U.S., there is Odinism of a sort to justify racism and the murder of those not "White" enough.
What is at the bottom of all of this new mounting lack of toleration? What fear has been loosed upon the world: a new fear greater then the world's destruction during the Cold War? Unfortunately, we have seen this throughout history: The Crusades, The Spanish Inquisition, World Wars, constant struggles between populations "different" from one another for one reason or another. I really can't answer this all to well. Richard Dawkins cried out that all religion should be banned. Well, what would be the next point of division? Political beliefs? There is already a war between men and women and, most of all, men are winning this one all to well: even women are seen as the "other"!
Hell, people can't believe in love the same way, how to raise children, who will serve and who will eat and on and on . . . .
Complicated it is! However, we can TALK, COMMUNICATE and even AGREE TO DISAGREE without violence.I guess that this is my "start" here.