The World of Religions, November-December 2009 —
Religions are frightening. Nowadays, the religious dimension is present, to varying degrees, in most armed conflicts. Without even mentioning war, controversies surrounding religious issues are among the most violent in Western countries. Certainly, religion divides people more than it unites them. Why? From the very beginning, religion has possessed a dual dimension of connection. Vertically, it creates a link between people and a higher principle, whatever name we give it: spirit, god,
the Absolute. This is its mystical dimension. Horizontally, it brings together human beings, who feel united by this common belief in this invisible transcendence. This is its political dimension. This is well expressed
by the Latin etymology of the word "religion": religere, "to connect." A human group is united by shared beliefs, and these are all the stronger, as Régis Debray has so aptly explained, because they refer to an absent, an invisible force. Religion therefore takes on a prominent identity dimension: each individual feels they belong to a group through this religious dimension, which also constitutes an important part of their personal identity. Everything is fine when all individuals share the same beliefs. Violence begins when certain individuals deviate from the common norm: it is the eternal persecution of "heretics" and "infidels," who threaten the social cohesion of the group. Violence is also exercised, of course, outside the community, against other cities, groups, or nations that have other beliefs. And even when political power is separated from religious power, religion is often instrumentalized by politics because of its mobilizing identity dimension. We remember Saddam Hussein, a non-believer and leader of a secular state, calling for jihad to fight against "Jewish and Christian crusaders" during the two Gulf Wars. The survey we conducted in Israeli settlements provides another example. In a rapidly globalizing world, arousing fear and rejection, religion is experiencing a resurgence of identity everywhere. We fear the other, we withdraw into ourselves and our cultural roots, secreting intolerance. Yet there is a completely different attitude possible for believers: to remain faithful to their roots, while being able to open up and dialogue with others in their differences. To refuse to allow religion to be used by politicians for warlike ends. To return to the vertical foundations of each religion, which advocates values of respect for others, peace, and welcoming strangers. To experience religion in its spiritual dimension more than its identity dimension. By drawing on this common heritage of spiritual and humanist values rather than on the diversity of cultures and the dogmas that divide them, religions can play a peacemaking role on a global level. We are still a long way from that, but many individuals and groups are working in this direction: it is also useful to remember this. If, to borrow Péguy's phrase, "everything begins in mysticism and ends in politics," it is not impossible for believers to work towards the construction of a peaceful global political space, through the common mystical foundation of religions: the primacy of love, mercy, and forgiveness. That is to say, to work towards the advent of a fraternal world. Religions therefore do not seem to me to constitute an irreversible obstacle to such a project, which is in line with that of humanists, whether they are believers, atheists, or agnostics.