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{{npov|date=January 2015}} {{npov|date=January 2015}}
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{{AfDM|page=Christian terrorism (2nd nomination)|year=2015|month=March|day=19|substed=yes|origtag=afdx}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2013}}
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] have been ] that are responsible for threatening, assaulting and murdering doctors, and for bombing their ]s across the United States and Canada. ] have been ] that are responsible for threatening, assaulting and murdering doctors, and for bombing their ]s across the United States and Canada.


] is a loosely affiliated global group of churches and individuals devoted to a ] theology which asserts that ]an whites are the direct descendants of the ], God's ]. It has been associated with groups such as the ], ], ], ], and ]. It has been cited as an influence on a number of terrorist attacks around the world, including the ].<ref name="hamm">{{cite book|publisher=Northeastern|year=2001|isbn=1-55553-492-9|title=In Bad Company: America's Terrorist Underground|author=Mark S. Hamm}}</ref><ref name="aho">{{cite book|title=The Politics of Righteousness: Idaho Christian Patriotism|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=1995|page=86|author=James Alfred Aho|isbn=0-295-97494-X}}</ref><ref name="tied">{{cite news|publisher=Washington Post|title=Is Terrorism Tied To Christian Sect?|author=Alan Cooperman|date=2 June 2003| url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A1196-2003Jun1?language=printer}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title= 'Volk' Faith and Fatherland: The Security Threat Posed by the White Right|author=Martin Schönteich and Henri Boshoff|isbn=1-919913-30-0|publisher=Pretoria, South Africa, Institute for Security Studies|year=2003|url=http://www.iss.co.za/Pubs/Monographs/No81/Chap4.html}}</ref> ] is a loosely affiliated global group of churches and individuals devoted to a ] theology which asserts that ]an whites are the direct descendants of the ], God's ]. It has been associated with groups such as the ], ], ], ], and ]. It has been cited as an influence on a number of terrorist attacks around the world, including the ].<ref name="hamm">{{cite book|publisher=Northeastern|year=2001|isbn=1-55553-492-9|title=In Bad Company: America's Terrorist Underground|author=Mark S. Hamm}}</ref><ref name="aho">{{cite book|title=The Politics of Righteousness: Idaho Christian Patriotism|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=1995|page=86|author=James Alfred Aho|isbn=0-295-97494-X}}</ref><ref name="tied">{{cite news|publisher=Washington Post|title=Is Terrorism Tied To Christian Sect?|author=Alan Cooperman|date=2 June 2003| url=/ac2/wp-dyn/A1196-2003Jun1?language=printer}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title= 'Volk' Faith and Fatherland: The Security Threat Posed by the White Right|author=Martin Schönteich and Henri Boshoff|isbn=1-919913-30-0|publisher=Pretoria, South Africa, Institute for Security Studies|year=2003|url=/Pubs/Monographs/No81/Chap4.html}}</ref>


Following the ] in 2011, analyst Daryl Johnson of the ] said that the ] Christian ] possessed more weapons than the combined weapons holdings of all Islamic terror defendants charged in the US since the ].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sjsu.edu/people/shantanu.phukan/courses/RELS162/s1/Shane-Killings%20in%20Norway%20Spotlight%20Anti-Muslim%20Thought%20in%20US.pdf|title=Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S.|first=Scott|last=Shane|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 24, 2011|accessdate=November 3, 2014}}</ref> Following the ] in 2011, analyst Daryl Johnson of the ] said that the ] Christian ] possessed more weapons than the combined weapons holdings of all Islamic terror defendants charged in the US since the ].<ref>{{Cite news|url=/people/shantanu.phukan/courses/RELS162/s1/Shane-Killings%20in%20Norway%20Spotlight%20Anti-Muslim%20Thought%20in%20US.pdf|title=Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S.|first=Scott|last=Shane|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 24, 2011|accessdate=November 3, 2014}}</ref>


== Historical == == Historical ==
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{{main|Gunpowder Plot}} {{main|Gunpowder Plot}}
The ] in Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the ] and the introduction of ] state churches.<ref> and , Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref> The 1605 ] was a failed attempt by a group of ] including ] to assassinate ], and to blow up the ], the ] seat of government. According to Vahabph D. Aghai, "The beginnings of modern terrorism can be traced back to England and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605."<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=L7G5EdFTfq4C&oi=fnd&pg=PR4&dq=%22Gunpowder+Plot%22+%22Christian+terrorism%22&ots=ciT_UrzWzi&sig=eJV3m6BlKtBiK-KiAGtlXIxGLs0#v=onepage&q=Gunpowder%20Plot&f=false|title=Terrorism, an Unconventional Crime: Do We Have the Wisdom and Capability to Defeat Terrorism?|first=Vahabph D.|last=Aghai|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|date=2011|page=14|accessdate=December 12, 2014}}</ref> Sue Mahan and Pamala L. Griset classify the plot as religious terrorism, writing that "Fawkes and his colleagues justified their actions in terms of religion."<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=h-xyAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA42&dq=%22Gunpowder+Plot%22+terrorism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ntaEVLzlBI6TsQSv3oDoCg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Gunpowder%20Plot%22%20terrorism&f=false|title=Terrorism in Perspective|edition=3rd|first1=Sue|last1=Mahan|first2=Pamala L.|last2=Griset|publisher=Sage Publications|date=2013|isbn=9781452225456|pages=42–44|chapter=Religious Terrorism: Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot|quote=Like many terrorists throughout history, Fawkes and his colleagues justified their actions in terms of religion. Like other instances of 'holy terror', the Gunpowder Plot was deeply rooted in events that had occurred long before.}}</ref> ] also characterizes this plot as a notable case of religious terrorism.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=New York Times|author=Peter Steinfels|date=5 November 2005|title=A Day to Think About a Case of Faith-Based Terrorism|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/05/national/05beliefs.html}}</ref> The ] in Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the ] and the introduction of ] state churches.<ref> and , Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref> The 1605 ] was a failed attempt by a group of ] including ] to assassinate ], and to blow up the ], the ] seat of government. According to Vahabph D. Aghai, "The beginnings of modern terrorism can be traced back to England and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605."<ref>{{Cite book|url=/books?hl=en&lr=&id=L7G5EdFTfq4C&oi=fnd&pg=PR4&dq=%22Gunpowder+Plot%22+%22Christian+terrorism%22&ots=ciT_UrzWzi&sig=eJV3m6BlKtBiK-KiAGtlXIxGLs0#v=onepage&q=Gunpowder%20Plot&f=false|title=Terrorism, an Unconventional Crime: Do We Have the Wisdom and Capability to Defeat Terrorism?|first=Vahabph D.|last=Aghai|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|date=2011|page=14|accessdate=December 12, 2014}}</ref> Sue Mahan and Pamala L. Griset classify the plot as religious terrorism, writing that "Fawkes and his colleagues justified their actions in terms of religion."<ref>{{Cite book|url=/books?id=h-xyAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA42&dq=%22Gunpowder+Plot%22+terrorism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ntaEVLzlBI6TsQSv3oDoCg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Gunpowder%20Plot%22%20terrorism&f=false|title=Terrorism in Perspective|edition=3rd|first1=Sue|last1=Mahan|first2=Pamala L.|last2=Griset|publisher=Sage Publications|date=2013|isbn=9781452225456|pages=42–44|chapter=Religious Terrorism: Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot|quote=Like many terrorists throughout history, Fawkes and his colleagues justified their actions in terms of religion. Like other instances of 'holy terror', the Gunpowder Plot was deeply rooted in events that had occurred long before.}}</ref> ] also characterizes this plot as a notable case of religious terrorism.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=New York Times|author=Peter Steinfels|date=5 November 2005|title=A Day to Think About a Case of Faith-Based Terrorism|url=/2005/11/05/national/05beliefs.html}}</ref>


=== Pogroms === === Pogroms ===


{{See also|Religious persecution|Ethnic cleansing}} {{See also|Religious persecution|Ethnic cleansing}}
] movements in ], such as the ] and ], which have been characterized by ] and ] as ] and ], respectively, were responsible for involvement in the ], and political murders during the 1930s.<ref>{{cite web |author=Paul Tinichigiu |publisher=The Central Europe Center for Research and Documentation |title=Sami Fiul (interview) |date=January 2004 |url=http://www.centropa.org/index.php?id=91&page=rdetails&rtype=bio&table=biografien |deadurl=yes |accessdate=26 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=The Sacralised Politics of the Romanian Iron Guard|author=Radu Ioanid |journal=Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions |volume=5 |issue=3 |year=2004 |pages=419–453(35) |doi=10.1080/1469076042000312203}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Leon Volovici |title=Nationalist Ideology and Antisemitism |page=98 |quote=citing N. Cainic, ''Ortodoxie şi etnocraţie'', pp. 162–4 |isbn=0-08-041024-3}}</ref><ref name="yv">{{cite journal|journal=Background and precursors to the Holocaust |title=Roots of Romanian Antisemitism: The League of National Christian Defense and Iron Guard Antisemitism |url=http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/about/events/pdf/report/english/1.1_Roots_of_Romanian_Antisemitism.pdf|format=PDF |publisher=Yad Vashem – The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority}}</ref>{{rp|page=37|date=November 2012}}<ref name="payne">Payne, Stanley G. (1995). ''A History of Fascism 1914–1945''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press (pp. 277–289) ISBN 0-299-14874-2</ref> ] movements in ], such as the ] and ], which have been characterized by ] and ] as ] and ], respectively, were responsible for involvement in the ], and political murders during the 1930s.<ref>{{cite web |author=Paul Tinichigiu |publisher=The Central Europe Center for Research and Documentation |title=Sami Fiul (interview) |date=January 2004 |url=/index.php?id=91&page=rdetails&rtype=bio&table=biografien |deadurl=yes |accessdate=26 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=The Sacralised Politics of the Romanian Iron Guard|author=Radu Ioanid |journal=Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions |volume=5 |issue=3 |year=2004 |pages=419–453(35) |doi=10.1080/1469076042000312203}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Leon Volovici |title=Nationalist Ideology and Antisemitism |page=98 |quote=citing N. Cainic, ''Ortodoxie şi etnocraţie'', pp. 162–4 |isbn=0-08-041024-3}}</ref><ref name="yv">{{cite journal|journal=Background and precursors to the Holocaust |title=Roots of Romanian Antisemitism: The League of National Christian Defense and Iron Guard Antisemitism |url=/yv/en/about/events/pdf/report/english/1.1_Roots_of_Romanian_Antisemitism.pdf|format=PDF |publisher=Yad Vashem – The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority}}</ref>{{rp|page=37|date=November 2012}}<ref name="payne">Payne, Stanley G. (1995). ''A History of Fascism 1914–1945''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press (pp. 277–289) ISBN 0-299-14874-2</ref>


=== Ku Klux Klan === === Ku Klux Klan ===
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Klan members had an explicitly Christian terrorist ideology, basing their beliefs in part on a "religious foundation" in Christianity.<ref>{{cite book |last=Al-Khattar |first=Aref M. |title=Religion and terrorism: an interfaith perspective |year=2003 |publisher=Praeger |location=Westport, CT |pages=21, 30, 55, 91}}</ref> The goals of the KKK included, from an early time onward, an intent to "reestablish Protestant Christian values in America by any means possible", and they believed that "] was the first Klansman."<ref> Klan members had an explicitly Christian terrorist ideology, basing their beliefs in part on a "religious foundation" in Christianity.<ref>{{cite book |last=Al-Khattar |first=Aref M. |title=Religion and terrorism: an interfaith perspective |year=2003 |publisher=Praeger |location=Westport, CT |pages=21, 30, 55, 91}}</ref> The goals of the KKK included, from an early time onward, an intent to "reestablish Protestant Christian values in America by any means possible", and they believed that "] was the first Klansman."<ref>
Michael, Robert, and Philip Rosen. ''Dictionary of antisemitism from the earliest times to the present''. Lanham, Maryland, USA: Scarecrow Press, 1997 p. 267.</ref> From 1915 onward, Klansmen conducted cross-burnings not only to intimidate targets, but also to demonstrate their respect and reverence for ], and the ritual of lighting crosses was steeped in Christian symbolism, including making prayer and singing Christian hymns.<ref>{{cite book |title = The fiery cross: the Ku Klux Klan in America | last = Wade | first = Wyn Craig | year = 1998 | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = USA | page = 185 Michael, Robert, and Philip Rosen. ''Dictionary of antisemitism from the earliest times to the present''. Lanham, Maryland, USA: Scarecrow Press, 1997 p. 267.</ref> From 1915 onward, Klansmen conducted cross-burnings not only to intimidate targets, but also to demonstrate their respect and reverence for ], and the ritual of lighting crosses was steeped in Christian symbolism, including making prayer and singing Christian hymns.<ref>{{cite book |title = The fiery cross: the Ku Klux Klan in America | last = Wade | first = Wyn Craig | year = 1998 | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = USA | page = 185
| url = http://books.google.com/?id=6O_XYBMhNYAC&pg=PA185&dq=cross+burning+religious+kkk#v=onepage&q&f=false | url =/?id=6O_XYBMhNYAC&pg=PA185&dq=cross+burning+religious+kkk#v=onepage&q&f=false
| accessdate=3 May 2011 |isbn=9780195123579}}</ref> Within Christianity the Klan directed hostilities ]. Modern Klan organizations, such as the Knights Party, USA, continue to focus on the Christian supremacist message, detecting a "war" which allegedly aims to destroy "western Christian civilization." <!-- <ref>Robb, Thomas. "The Knights Party, USA." Accessed 22 March 2011</ref> dead link, and if a ref then it should be a specific url, not generic--> | accessdate=3 May 2011 |isbn=9780195123579}}</ref> Within Christianity the Klan directed hostilities ]. Modern Klan organizations, such as the Knights Party, USA, continue to focus on the Christian supremacist message, detecting a "war" which allegedly aims to destroy "western Christian civilization." <!-- <ref>Robb, Thomas. "The Knights Party, USA." Accessed 22 March 2011</ref> dead link, and if a ref then it should be a specific url, not generic-->


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{{Further|Tripura rebellion}} {{Further|Tripura rebellion}}
The ] (NLFT), is a rebel group that seeks the secession of ], ], and is a proscribed ] in India. Group activities have been described as Christian terrorists engaging in terrorist violence motivated by their Christian beliefs.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=In the Name of the Father? Christian Militantism in Tripura, Northern Uganda, and Ambon|journal=Studies in Conflict and Terrorism|year=2007|volume=30|page=963|doi=10.1080/10576100701611288|author=Adam, de Cordier, Titeca, and Vlassenroot|issue=11}}</ref><ref name=Kumar>{{cite book|last1=Kumar|first1=B.B.|title=Problems of Ethnicity in North-East India|date=2007|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|location=New Delhi, India|isbn=818069464X|page=23|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=QTCJTIBHJHEC&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=tripura+%22religious+terrorism%22&source=bl&ots=ATXLaOVwWE&sig=TZswYa-5klbyp_OJKYsfB1MDLxg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FmdGVPefLMnJgwSIuoCwBQ&ved=0CEwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=tripura%20%22religious%20terrorism%22&f=false|accessdate=21 October 2014}}</ref> The NLFT includes in its aims the forced conversion of all tribespeople in Tripura to Christianity.<ref name="BBC Kali">{{cite news|title=Hindu preacher killed by Tripura rebels|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/899422.stm|accessdate=18 September 2014|agency=BBC News|date=August 28, 2000}}</ref> The NLFT says that it is fighting not only for the removal of Bengali immigrants from the tribal areas, "but also for the tribal areas of the state to become overtly Christian", and "has warned members of the tribal community that they may be attacked if they do not accept its Christian agenda".<ref>{{cite news|title="Analysis: Tripura's tribal strife"|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/758342.stm|accessdate=23 November 2014|agency=BBC News|date=21 May 2000}}</ref> The NLFT is listed as a terrorist organization in the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002.<ref name='act'>{{cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/document/actandordinances/POTA.htm |title=The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 |accessdate=1 March 2009 |year=2002 |work=Republic of India |publisher=South Asia Terrorism Portal}}</ref> The state government contends that the Baptist Church of Tripura supplies arms and gives financial support to the NLFT.<ref name="nlft">{{cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/tripura/documents/papers/nlft_const.htm|title=Constitution of National Liberation Front Of Tripura|publisher=South Asia Terrorism Portal}}</ref><ref name="South Asia Terrorism Portal">{{cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/tripura/terrorist_outfits/nlft.htm|title=National Liberation Front of Tripura, India|publisher=South Asia Terrorism Portal}}</ref><ref name="bbc717775">{{cite news |first=Subhir |last=Bhaumik |title='Church backing Tripura rebels' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/717775.stm |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=26 August 2006 |date=18 April 2000}}</ref> Reports from the state government and Indian media describe activities such as the acquisition by the NLFT of explosives through the Noapara Baptist Church in Tripura,<ref name="bbc717775" /> and threats of killing Hindus celebrating religious festivals.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/953200.stm | work=BBC News | title=Separatist group bans Hindu festivities |date=2 October 2000}}</ref> Over 20 Hindus in Tripura were reported to have been killed by the NLFT from 1999 to 2001 for resisting forced conversion to Christianity.<ref name=Tripura></ref> According to Hindus in the area, there have also been forced conversions of tribal villagers to Christianity by armed NLFT militants.<ref name=Tripura/> These forcible conversions, sometimes including the use of "rape as a means of intimidation", have also been noted by academics outside of India.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=In the Name of the Father? Christian Militantism in Tripura, Northern Uganda, and Ambon|journal=Studies in Conflict and Terrorism|year=2007|volume=30|pages=965, 966, 967|doi=10.1080/10576100701611288|author=Adam, de Cordier, Titeca, and Vlassenroot|issue=11}}</ref> In 2000, the NLFT broke into a temple and gunned down a popular Hindu preacher popularly known as ].<ref name="BBC Kali"/> The ] (NLFT), is a rebel group that seeks the secession of ], ], and is a proscribed ] in India. Group activities have been described as Christian terrorists engaging in terrorist violence motivated by their Christian beliefs.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=In the Name of the Father? Christian Militantism in Tripura, Northern Uganda, and Ambon|journal=Studies in Conflict and Terrorism|year=2007|volume=30|page=963|doi=10.1080/10576100701611288|author=Adam, de Cordier, Titeca, and Vlassenroot|issue=11}}</ref><ref name=Kumar>{{cite book|last1=Kumar|first1=B.B.|title=Problems of Ethnicity in North-East India|date=2007|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|location=New Delhi, India|isbn=818069464X|page=23|url=/books?id=QTCJTIBHJHEC&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=tripura+%22religious+terrorism%22&source=bl&ots=ATXLaOVwWE&sig=TZswYa-5klbyp_OJKYsfB1MDLxg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FmdGVPefLMnJgwSIuoCwBQ&ved=0CEwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=tripura%20%22religious%20terrorism%22&f=false|accessdate=21 October 2014}}</ref> The NLFT includes in its aims the forced conversion of all tribespeople in Tripura to Christianity.<ref name="BBC%25252525252520Kali">{{cite news|title=Hindu preacher killed by Tripura rebels|url=/2/hi/south_asia/899422.stm|accessdate=18 September 2014|agency=BBC News|date=August 28, 2000}}</ref> The NLFT says that it is fighting not only for the removal of Bengali immigrants from the tribal areas, "but also for the tribal areas of the state to become overtly Christian", and "has warned members of the tribal community that they may be attacked if they do not accept its Christian agenda".<ref>{{cite news|title="Analysis: Tripura's tribal strife"|url=/2/hi/south_asia/758342.stm|accessdate=23 November 2014|agency=BBC News|date=21 May 2000}}</ref> The NLFT is listed as a terrorist organization in the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002.<ref name='act'>{{cite web|url=/satporgtp/countries/india/document/actandordinances/POTA.htm |title=The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 |accessdate=1 March 2009 |year=2002 |work=Republic of India |publisher=South Asia Terrorism Portal}}</ref> The state government contends that the Baptist Church of Tripura supplies arms and gives financial support to the NLFT.<ref name="nlft">{{cite web|url=/satporgtp/countries/india/states/tripura/documents/papers/nlft_const.htm|title=Constitution of National Liberation Front Of Tripura|publisher=South Asia Terrorism Portal}}</ref><ref name="South%25252525252520Asia%25252525252520Terrorism%25252525252520Portal">{{cite web|url=/satporgtp/countries/india/states/tripura/terrorist_outfits/nlft.htm|title=National Liberation Front of Tripura, India|publisher=South Asia Terrorism Portal}}</ref><ref name="bbc717775">{{cite news |first=Subhir |last=Bhaumik |title='Church backing Tripura rebels' |url=/2/hi/south_asia/717775.stm |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=26 August 2006 |date=18 April 2000}}</ref> Reports from the state government and Indian media describe activities such as the acquisition by the NLFT of explosives through the Noapara Baptist Church in Tripura,<ref name="bbc717775" /> and threats of killing Hindus celebrating religious festivals.<ref>{{cite news| url=/2/hi/south_asia/953200.stm | work=BBC News | title=Separatist group bans Hindu festivities |date=2 October 2000}}</ref> Over 20 Hindus in Tripura were reported to have been killed by the NLFT from 1999 to 2001 for resisting forced conversion to Christianity.<ref name=Tripura></ref> According to Hindus in the area, there have also been forced conversions of tribal villagers to Christianity by armed NLFT militants.<ref name=Tripura%2525252525252F> These forcible conversions, sometimes including the use of "rape as a means of intimidation", have also been noted by academics outside of India.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=In the Name of the Father? Christian Militantism in Tripura, Northern Uganda, and Ambon|journal=Studies in Conflict and Terrorism|year=2007|volume=30|pages=965, 966, 967|doi=10.1080/10576100701611288|author=Adam, de Cordier, Titeca, and Vlassenroot|issue=11}}</ref> In 2000, the NLFT broke into a temple and gunned down a popular Hindu preacher popularly known as ].<ref name="BBC%25252525252520Kali"/>


==== Odisha ==== ==== Odisha ====


{{See also|Religious violence in Odisha}} {{See also|Religious violence in Odisha}}
In 2007 a tribal spiritual Hindu monk, ], accused ], chief of a local chapter of ], and a former ] member from ] in the ] party, of plotting to assassinate him.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Pioneer Archive|title=RSS wing blames Cong MP for triggering communal tension in Kandhamal |url = http://www.dailypioneer.com/61677/RSS-wing-blames-Cong-MP-for-triggering-communal-tension-in-Kandhamal.html|accessdate=28 October 2013 |date=27 December 2007}}</ref><!-- old link :: http://www.dailypioneer.com/61677/RSS-wing-blames-Cong-MP-for-triggering-communal-tension-in-Kandhamal.html --> The Swami also said that World Vision was covertly pumping money into India for religious conversion during the ], and criticized the activities of Christian missionaries as going against tribal beliefs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Attack on Laxmanananda by Christian mob in Orissa-I|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20120306082035/http://www.newstodaynet.com/printer.php?id=3557|accessdate=5 October 2014}}</ref> In 2008, he was gunned down along with four disciples on the Hindu festive day of ] by a group of 30–40 armed men.<ref></ref> Later, the ] terrorist leader Sabyasachi Panda admitted responsibility for the assassination, saying that the Maoists had intervened in the religious dispute on behalf of Christians and Dalits.<ref></ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-10-05/india/27938513_1_orissa-s-rayagada-bjp-leaders-maoists | work=The Times Of India | title=Advani, Singhal, Togadia natural targets of Maoists | date=5 October 2008}}</ref> The ] ] disputed that there had been Maoist involvement, and quoted the Swami as claiming that Christian missionaries had earlier attacked him eight times.<ref></ref><ref>{{dead link|date=October 2013}}</ref> In 2007 a tribal spiritual Hindu monk, ], accused ], chief of a local chapter of ], and a former ] member from ] in the ] party, of plotting to assassinate him.<ref>{{cite news|work=The Pioneer Archive|title=RSS wing blames Cong MP for triggering communal tension in Kandhamal |url =/61677/RSS-wing-blames-Cong-MP-for-triggering-communal-tension-in-Kandhamal.html|accessdate=28 October 2013 |date=27 December 2007}}</ref><!-- old link :: http://www.dailypioneer.com/61677/RSS-wing-blames-Cong-MP-for-triggering-communal-tension-in-Kandhamal.html --> The Swami also said that World Vision was covertly pumping money into India for religious conversion during the ], and criticized the activities of Christian missionaries as going against tribal beliefs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Attack on Laxmanananda by Christian mob in Orissa-I|url=/web/20120306082035/http://www.newstodaynet.com/printer.php?id=3557|accessdate=5 October 2014}}</ref> In 2008, he was gunned down along with four disciples on the Hindu festive day of ] by a group of 30–40 armed men.<ref></ref> Later, the ] terrorist leader Sabyasachi Panda admitted responsibility for the assassination, saying that the Maoists had intervened in the religious dispute on behalf of Christians and Dalits.<ref></ref><ref>{{cite news| url=/2008-10-05/india/27938513_1_orissa-s-rayagada-bjp-leaders-maoists | work=The Times Of India | title=Advani, Singhal, Togadia natural targets of Maoists | date=5 October 2008}}</ref> The ] ] disputed that there had been Maoist involvement, and quoted the Swami as claiming that Christian missionaries had earlier attacked him eight times.<ref></ref><ref>{{dead link|date=October 2013}}</ref>


=== Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon === === Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon ===


] Christian militias perpetrated the ] and ]s of Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims during ]'s ]. The 1982 ], which targeted unarmed Palestinian refugees for rape and murder, was considered to be genocide by the ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/37/a37r123.htm|title=General Assembly Resolution 37/123|author=]|date=December 16, 1982|accessdate=January 17, 2011}}</ref> A British photographer present during the incident said that "People who committed the acts of murder that I saw that day were wearing and were calling themselves Christians."<ref name="Accused">{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/audio_video/programmes/panorama/transcripts/transcript_17_06_01.txt transcript|title=Panorama: "The Accused"|author=] News|date=June 17, 2001|accessdate=January 17, 2011}} The transcription actually says "crucifixions" instead of "crucifixes".</ref> After the end of the civil war, Christian militias refused to disband, concentrating in the Israeli-occupied south of the country, where they terrorized Muslim and Druze villages and forcefully recruited men and boys from those communities into their groups.<ref>http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/lebanon/Isrlb997-07.htm</ref> ] Christian militias perpetrated the ] and ]s of Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims during ]'s ]. The 1982 ], which targeted unarmed Palestinian refugees for rape and murder, was considered to be genocide by the ].<ref>{{Cite web|url=/documents/ga/res/37/a37r123.htm|title=General Assembly Resolution 37/123|author=]|date=December 16, 1982|accessdate=January 17, 2011}}</ref> A British photographer present during the incident said that "People who committed the acts of murder that I saw that day were wearing and were calling themselves Christians."<ref name="Accused">{{Cite web|url=/hi/english/static/audio_video/programmes/panorama/transcripts/transcript_17_06_01.txt transcript|title=Panorama: "The Accused"|author=] News|date=June 17, 2001|accessdate=January 17, 2011}} The transcription actually says "crucifixions" instead of "crucifixes".</ref> After the end of the civil war, Christian militias refused to disband, concentrating in the Israeli-occupied south of the country, where they terrorized Muslim and Druze villages and forcefully recruited men and boys from those communities into their groups.<ref>http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/lebanon/Isrlb997-07.htm</ref>


=== Northern Ireland paramilitaries === === Northern Ireland paramilitaries ===


] in ] are widely seen as an ] conflict that was not religious in nature.<ref name=Coakley>{{cite web|url = http://www.passia.org/seminars/2004/John-Coakley-Ireland-Seminar.htm|title = ETHNIC CONFLICT AND THE TWO-STATE SOLUTION: THE IRISH EXPERIENCE OF PARTITION|last = Coakley|first = John|accessdate = 15 February 2009|quote=...these attitudes are not rooted particularly in religious belief, but rather in underlying ethnonational identity patterns.}}</ref><ref name=Hoffinter>Interview with Bruce Hoffman; "A Conversation with Bruce Hoffman and Jeffrey Goldberg" in ''Religion, Culture and International Conflict: A Conversation'', edited by Michael Cromartie. Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. p.30. Quote: "I define terrorism as 'religious' when some liturgy, scripture, or clerical authority is involved in sanctioning the violent act. Now there are all sorts of groups around the world that use force and can be identified using religious terms but are not 'religious' in the sense that I am using the term. In Northern Ireland, for instance, Protestants and Catholics fight using terrorist (or as they say locally, 'paramilitary') tactics, but theological justifications play little or no role."</ref><ref name=RJenkins>{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Richard |title=Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=1997 |page=120 |quote=It should, I think, be apparent that the Northern Irish conflict is not a religious conflict... Although religion has a place—and indeed an important one—in the repertoire of conflict in Northern Ireland, the majority of participants see the situation as primarily concerned with matters of politics and nationalism, not religion. And there is no reason to disagree with them.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Griffin|first=Emily|chapter=12: In Violence and in Peace – the role of religion and human security in Northern Ireland|title=Religion and Human Security: A Global Perspective|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2012|page=214|quote=Many scholars like Richardson believe that the religious nature of the dispute has been overemphasized. Richard Jenkins et al (1986) believe that although religion has a place in the “repertoire of conflict” in Northern Ireland, it is apparent that the situation was primarily concerned with matters of politics and nationalism, not religious issues. Edna Longley has argued that it is better described as a culture war in which both sides have been merely defined by their religious denominations. In an editorial column in the ''National Catholic Reporter'', Eoin McKiernan told readers that the “religious conflict in Northern Ireland is a misnomer for political strife”. In 2007, William Cardinal Conway, former archbishop of Armagh, referred to the issues as “basically political, social and economic” in nature. Hayes and McAllister suggest that the terms ‘Protestant’ and ‘Catholic’ play no greater role in shaping the conflict beyond providing convenient identifying labels for the protagonists.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Claire |title=Religion, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2013 |page=5 |quote=The most popular school of thought on religion is encapsulated in McGarry and O'Leary's ''Explaining Northern Ireland'' (1995), and is echoed by Coulter (1999) and Clayton (1998). The central argument is that religion is an ethnic marker, but that it is not generally politically relevant in and of itself. Instead, ethnonationalism lies at the root of the conflict. Hayes and McAllister (1999a) point out that this represents something of an academic consensus.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Tannam |first=Etain |title=International Intervention in Ethnic Conflict |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2014 |page= |quote=In 1983 the European Parliament's Political Affairs Committee commissioned a report, chaired by the Dutch Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Nils Haagerup, on resolving the conflict in Northern Ireland. The Haagerup Report aimed to explain the situation of conflict in Northern Ireland to non-British and non-Irish MEPs The report defined the conflict as being one of ‘conflicting national identities’, not a religious conflict between the two communities…}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Moore |first=Margaret |chapter=3:Globalization, Cosmopolitanism, and Minority Nationalism |title=Minority Nationalism and the Changing International Order |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |page=50 |quote=In Northern Ireland, where there are two distinct and mutually antagonistic national communities on the same territory, the conflict between the two groups is not about some objective cultural difference. Despite a common misconception, it is not religious in nature. The groups are not arguing over the details of doctrinal interpretation. Religious leaders – priests, nuns, ministers – are not targets for violence…}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Murray |first=Dominic |chapter=Families in Conflict: Pervasive Violence in Northern Ireland |title=War: A Cruel Necessity? |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=1995 |page=68 |quote=At the outset, it is essential to state that the conflict in the province is not principally a religious one. It is true that it has been presented as such throughout the world but this is both misleading and not very productive.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Reuter |first=Tina |chapter=17: Ethnic Conflict |title=21st Century Political Science: A Reference Handbook |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=2010 |page=144 |quote=The conflicts in Northern Ireland or Israel/Palestine, for example, are not religious conflicts, but political conflicts, because the goals at stake are political, not religious in nature.}}</ref><ref name=Patterson>{{cite book |last=Patterson |first=Eric |year=2013 |title=The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Security|publisher=Routledge |page=120 |chapter=Religion, war and peace: leavening the levels of analysis |quote=Northern Ireland has a long history of difference and discrimination, but no one there was fighting over the number of books in the Bible, about theology, about the nature of communion, about the infallibility of the pope, or any of the things about which Catholics and Protestants differ theologically and ecclesiastically... The Irish Republican Army (IRA) and its political wing Sinn Féin are not religious – although supposedly they were defenders of the Catholics. The IRA judged the institutional Catholic Church as taking a quietistic role, with its head in the sand and consequently supportive of the status quo. In contrast, the IRA and Sinn Féin's intellectual roots are in left of-center, secularist, twentieth-century nationalism rather than in the ideology of a Catholic-inspired insurgency.}}</ref><ref name=Kearney>{{cite book |last=Kearney |first=Richard |year=1988 |title=Transitions: Narratives in Modern Irish Culture |publisher=Manchester University Press |page=237 |quote=In the face of such 'outside' opinion, many Irish citizens would respond: 'but you foreigners don't really understand us; you don't appreciate that the conflict in Northern Ireland, for instance, is not in fact a religious war at all - the IRA or the UDA don't care about the theological doctrines of their religious traditions – the violence is really about opposed tribal fidelities'.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last = McGarry|first = John|author2 = Brendan O'Leary|title = Explaining Northern Ireland|publisher = Wiley-Blackwell|date = 15 June 1995|page = 18|isbn = 978-0-631-18349-5}}</ref><ref>. ]. 31 July 2014. Quote: "Ed Moloney, a journalist and scholar of Irish history, says that while the conflict in Northern Ireland and the one between Israelis and Palestinians share many deep similarities, there are differences that make the latter much harder to resolve.“The Northern Irish conflict is not a religious conflict,” Moloney said."</ref><ref>. Quote: "This was a territorial conflict, not a religious one. At its heart lay two mutually exclusive visions of national identity and national belonging."</ref> Some experts who subscribe to this view argue that religion was also a motivating factor, with Philip Purpura calling it an "overlap" between religious terrorism and ethnic/nationalist terrorism,<ref name=Purpura>{{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/?id=3ItzwLVo8DwC&pg=PA17&dq=%22Ku+Klux+Klan%22+%22religious+terrorism%22#v=onepage&q=%22Ku%20Klux%20Klan%22%20%22religious%20terrorism%22&f=false|title=Terrorism and Homeland Security: An Introduction with Applications|first=Philip|last=Purpura|page=17|publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier|date=2007|isbn=9780750678438|accessdate=December 8, 2014|quote=this conflict overlaps religious terrorism because of the violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.}}</ref><ref name=Jenkins2>{{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/?id=w9mY2MiBQWAC&pg=PP1&dq=Rethinking+Ethnicity:+Arguments+and+Explorations#v=onepage&q=Religion&f=false|author=Richard Jenkins|title=Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations|pages=111–127|accessdate=December 8, 2014|isbn=9781849204934|date=2008-01-18}}<br />"A strong version of the thesis that the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland are, indeed, a conflict of religion has been defended vigorously by John Fulton (1991); more moderate versions have been put forward by John Hickey (1984), Maurice Irvine (1991) and Claire Mitchell (2006)." (page 112)<br />"And that the 'troubles' have not been ''about'' religion cannot be taken to mean that religious differences are insignificant." (page 127)<br />"As I suggested in Chapter 8, although essentially political, the Northern Irish conflict is symbolized and reinforced by an important religious dimension." (page 157)</ref><ref>{{quote|Politics in the North is not politics exploiting religion. That is far too simple an explanation: it is one which trips readily off the tongue of commentators who are used to a cultural style in which the politically pragmatic is the normal way of conducting affairs and all other considerations are put to its use. In the case of Northern Ireland the relationship is much more complex. It is more a question of religion inspiring politics than of politics making use of religion. It is a situation more akin to the first half of seventeenth‑century England than to the last quarter of twentieth century Britain.{{cite book|author=John Hickey|title=Religion and the Northern Ireland Problem|publisher=Gill and Macmillan|year=1984|page=67|isbn= 978-0717111152}}}}</ref> a characterization that is at odds with multiple other analysts.<ref name=Hoffinter/><ref name=RJenkins/><ref name=Patterson/><ref name=Kearney/><ref name=Goodspeed>{{cite book |last=Goodspeed |first=Michael |year=2002 |title=When Reason Fails: Portraits of Armies at War : America, Britain, Israel, and the Future |publisher=Greenwood Publishing |page=78 |quote=The war waged by the IRA was not a religious war, nonetheless it was a war that divided society along religious lines. The loyalist cause in Ireland is exclusively a Protestant cause and the Republican cause is almost entirely Catholic.}}</ref><ref name=Moghadam>{{cite book |last=Moghadam |first=Assaf |year=2009 |title=The Roots of Terrorism |publisher=Infobase Publishing |page=106 |quote=Finally, religious terrorists differ from secular terrorists in the scale of their goals. The goals of secular groups such as the IRA are limited. Were the IRA, for instance, to succeed in their goals of removing British forces from Northern Ireland and unifying Ireland, then presumably the IRA would no longer have any reason to continue using violence. For religious terrorists, however, the struggle against the “infidels” is almost limitless.}}</ref><ref name=KarenArmstrong>Armstrong, Karen. . '']''. 11 July 2005. "We rarely, if ever, called the IRA bombings 'Catholic' terrorism because we knew enough to realise that this was not essentially a religious campaign."</ref> ] in ] are widely seen as an ] conflict that was not religious in nature.<ref name=Coakley>{{cite web|url =/seminars/2004/John-Coakley-Ireland-Seminar.htm|title = ETHNIC CONFLICT AND THE TWO-STATE SOLUTION: THE IRISH EXPERIENCE OF PARTITION|last = Coakley|first = John|accessdate = 15 February 2009|quote=...these attitudes are not rooted particularly in religious belief, but rather in underlying ethnonational identity patterns.}}</ref><ref name=Hoffinter>Interview with Bruce Hoffman; "A Conversation with Bruce Hoffman and Jeffrey Goldberg" in ''Religion, Culture and International Conflict: A Conversation'', edited by Michael Cromartie. Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. p.30. Quote: "I define terrorism as 'religious' when some liturgy, scripture, or clerical authority is involved in sanctioning the violent act. Now there are all sorts of groups around the world that use force and can be identified using religious terms but are not 'religious' in the sense that I am using the term. In Northern Ireland, for instance, Protestants and Catholics fight using terrorist (or as they say locally, 'paramilitary') tactics, but theological justifications play little or no role."</ref><ref name=RJenkins>{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Richard |title=Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=1997 |page=120 |quote=It should, I think, be apparent that the Northern Irish conflict is not a religious conflict... Although religion has a place—and indeed an important one—in the repertoire of conflict in Northern Ireland, the majority of participants see the situation as primarily concerned with matters of politics and nationalism, not religion. And there is no reason to disagree with them.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Griffin|first=Emily|chapter=12: In Violence and in Peace – the role of religion and human security in Northern Ireland|title=Religion and Human Security: A Global Perspective|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2012|page=214|quote=Many scholars like Richardson believe that the religious nature of the dispute has been overemphasized. Richard Jenkins et al (1986) believe that although religion has a place in the “repertoire of conflict” in Northern Ireland, it is apparent that the situation was primarily concerned with matters of politics and nationalism, not religious issues. Edna Longley has argued that it is better described as a culture war in which both sides have been merely defined by their religious denominations. In an editorial column in the ''National Catholic Reporter'', Eoin McKiernan told readers that the “religious conflict in Northern Ireland is a misnomer for political strife”. In 2007, William Cardinal Conway, former archbishop of Armagh, referred to the issues as “basically political, social and economic” in nature. Hayes and McAllister suggest that the terms ‘Protestant’ and ‘Catholic’ play no greater role in shaping the conflict beyond providing convenient identifying labels for the protagonists.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Claire |title=Religion, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2013 |page=5 |quote=The most popular school of thought on religion is encapsulated in McGarry and O'Leary's ''Explaining Northern Ireland'' (1995), and is echoed by Coulter (1999) and Clayton (1998). The central argument is that religion is an ethnic marker, but that it is not generally politically relevant in and of itself. Instead, ethnonationalism lies at the root of the conflict. Hayes and McAllister (1999a) point out that this represents something of an academic consensus.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Tannam |first=Etain |title=International Intervention in Ethnic Conflict |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2014 |page= |quote=In 1983 the European Parliament's Political Affairs Committee commissioned a report, chaired by the Dutch Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Nils Haagerup, on resolving the conflict in Northern Ireland. The Haagerup Report aimed to explain the situation of conflict in Northern Ireland to non-British and non-Irish MEPs The report defined the conflict as being one of ‘conflicting national identities’, not a religious conflict between the two communities…}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Moore |first=Margaret |chapter=3:Globalization, Cosmopolitanism, and Minority Nationalism |title=Minority Nationalism and the Changing International Order |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |page=50 |quote=In Northern Ireland, where there are two distinct and mutually antagonistic national communities on the same territory, the conflict between the two groups is not about some objective cultural difference. Despite a common misconception, it is not religious in nature. The groups are not arguing over the details of doctrinal interpretation. Religious leaders – priests, nuns, ministers – are not targets for violence…}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Murray |first=Dominic |chapter=Families in Conflict: Pervasive Violence in Northern Ireland |title=War: A Cruel Necessity? |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=1995 |page=68 |quote=At the outset, it is essential to state that the conflict in the province is not principally a religious one. It is true that it has been presented as such throughout the world but this is both misleading and not very productive.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Reuter |first=Tina |chapter=17: Ethnic Conflict |title=21st Century Political Science: A Reference Handbook |publisher=SAGE Publications |year=2010 |page=144 |quote=The conflicts in Northern Ireland or Israel/Palestine, for example, are not religious conflicts, but political conflicts, because the goals at stake are political, not religious in nature.}}</ref><ref name=Patterson>{{cite book |last=Patterson |first=Eric |year=2013 |title=The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Security|publisher=Routledge |page=120 |chapter=Religion, war and peace: leavening the levels of analysis |quote=Northern Ireland has a long history of difference and discrimination, but no one there was fighting over the number of books in the Bible, about theology, about the nature of communion, about the infallibility of the pope, or any of the things about which Catholics and Protestants differ theologically and ecclesiastically... The Irish Republican Army (IRA) and its political wing Sinn Féin are not religious – although supposedly they were defenders of the Catholics. The IRA judged the institutional Catholic Church as taking a quietistic role, with its head in the sand and consequently supportive of the status quo. In contrast, the IRA and Sinn Féin's intellectual roots are in left of-center, secularist, twentieth-century nationalism rather than in the ideology of a Catholic-inspired insurgency.}}</ref><ref name=Kearney>{{cite book |last=Kearney |first=Richard |year=1988 |title=Transitions: Narratives in Modern Irish Culture |publisher=Manchester University Press |page=237 |quote=In the face of such 'outside' opinion, many Irish citizens would respond: 'but you foreigners don't really understand us; you don't appreciate that the conflict in Northern Ireland, for instance, is not in fact a religious war at all - the IRA or the UDA don't care about the theological doctrines of their religious traditions – the violence is really about opposed tribal fidelities'.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last = McGarry|first = John|author2 = Brendan O'Leary|title = Explaining Northern Ireland|publisher = Wiley-Blackwell|date = 15 June 1995|page = 18|isbn = 978-0-631-18349-5}}</ref><ref>. ]. 31 July 2014. Quote: "Ed Moloney, a journalist and scholar of Irish history, says that while the conflict in Northern Ireland and the one between Israelis and Palestinians share many deep similarities, there are differences that make the latter much harder to resolve.“The Northern Irish conflict is not a religious conflict,” Moloney said."</ref><ref>. Quote: "This was a territorial conflict, not a religious one. At its heart lay two mutually exclusive visions of national identity and national belonging."</ref> Some experts who subscribe to this view argue that religion was also a motivating factor, with Philip Purpura calling it an "overlap" between religious terrorism and ethnic/nationalist terrorism,<ref name=Purpura>{{Cite book|url=/?id=3ItzwLVo8DwC&pg=PA17&dq=%22Ku+Klux+Klan%22+%22religious+terrorism%22#v=onepage&q=%22Ku%20Klux%20Klan%22%20%22religious%20terrorism%22&f=false|title=Terrorism and Homeland Security: An Introduction with Applications|first=Philip|last=Purpura|page=17|publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier|date=2007|isbn=9780750678438|accessdate=December 8, 2014|quote=this conflict overlaps religious terrorism because of the violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.}}</ref><ref name=Jenkins2>{{Cite book|url=/?id=w9mY2MiBQWAC&pg=PP1&dq=Rethinking+Ethnicity:+Arguments+and+Explorations#v=onepage&q=Religion&f=false|author=Richard Jenkins|title=Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations|pages=111–127|accessdate=December 8, 2014|isbn=9781849204934|date=2008-01-18}}<br />"A strong version of the thesis that the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland are, indeed, a conflict of religion has been defended vigorously by John Fulton (1991); more moderate versions have been put forward by John Hickey (1984), Maurice Irvine (1991) and Claire Mitchell (2006)." (page 112)<br />"And that the 'troubles' have not been ''about'' religion cannot be taken to mean that religious differences are insignificant." (page 127)<br />"As I suggested in Chapter 8, although essentially political, the Northern Irish conflict is symbolized and reinforced by an important religious dimension." (page 157)</ref><ref>{{quote|Politics in the North is not politics exploiting religion. That is far too simple an explanation: it is one which trips readily off the tongue of commentators who are used to a cultural style in which the politically pragmatic is the normal way of conducting affairs and all other considerations are put to its use. In the case of Northern Ireland the relationship is much more complex. It is more a question of religion inspiring politics than of politics making use of religion. It is a situation more akin to the first half of seventeenth‑century England than to the last quarter of twentieth century Britain.{{cite book|author=John Hickey|title=Religion and the Northern Ireland Problem|publisher=Gill and Macmillan|year=1984|page=67|isbn= 978-0717111152}}}}</ref> a characterization that is at odds with multiple other analysts.<ref name=Hoffinter%2525252525252F><ref name=RJenkins%2525252525252F><ref name=Patterson%2525252525252F><ref name=Kearney%2525252525252F><ref name=Goodspeed>{{cite book |last=Goodspeed |first=Michael |year=2002 |title=When Reason Fails: Portraits of Armies at War : America, Britain, Israel, and the Future |publisher=Greenwood Publishing |page=78 |quote=The war waged by the IRA was not a religious war, nonetheless it was a war that divided society along religious lines. The loyalist cause in Ireland is exclusively a Protestant cause and the Republican cause is almost entirely Catholic.}}</ref><ref name=Moghadam>{{cite book |last=Moghadam |first=Assaf |year=2009 |title=The Roots of Terrorism |publisher=Infobase Publishing |page=106 |quote=Finally, religious terrorists differ from secular terrorists in the scale of their goals. The goals of secular groups such as the IRA are limited. Were the IRA, for instance, to succeed in their goals of removing British forces from Northern Ireland and unifying Ireland, then presumably the IRA would no longer have any reason to continue using violence. For religious terrorists, however, the struggle against the “infidels” is almost limitless.}}</ref><ref name=KarenArmstrong>Armstrong, Karen. . '']''. 11 July 2005. "We rarely, if ever, called the IRA bombings 'Catholic' terrorism because we knew enough to realise that this was not essentially a religious campaign."</ref>


Sociology professor Steve Bruce characterised three small loyalist splinter groups – the ], ], and ] – as terrorist groups motivated by violent "Christian imagery" preached by Protestant evangelicals.<ref name=SteveBruce>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irish-association.org/papers/stevebruce11_oct03.asp|title=Religion and violence: The case of Paisley and Ulster evangelicals|first=Steve|last=Bruce|publisher=The Irish Association|date=2014|accessdate=December 8, 2014}}</ref> The leader of the Orange Volunteers, pastor ], defended their attacks on Catholic churches on the basis that they were "bastions of the Antichrist".<ref>{{cite book|title=Religion, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland|author=Claire Mitchell|isbn=0-7546-4155-4|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|year=2006|page=51}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/1209673.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=Self-styled loyalist pastor jailed|date=8 March 2001}}</ref> Sociology professor Steve Bruce characterised three small loyalist splinter groups – the ], ], and ] – as terrorist groups motivated by violent "Christian imagery" preached by Protestant evangelicals.<ref name=SteveBruce>{{Cite web|url=/papers/stevebruce11_oct03.asp|title=Religion and violence: The case of Paisley and Ulster evangelicals|first=Steve|last=Bruce|publisher=The Irish Association|date=2014|accessdate=December 8, 2014}}</ref> The leader of the Orange Volunteers, pastor ], defended their attacks on Catholic churches on the basis that they were "bastions of the Antichrist".<ref>{{cite book|title=Religion, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland|author=Claire Mitchell|isbn=0-7546-4155-4|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|year=2006|page=51}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=/1/hi/northern_ireland/1209673.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=Self-styled loyalist pastor jailed|date=8 March 2001}}</ref>


=== Utøya Island killings in Norway === === Utøya Island killings in Norway ===


{{Main|2011 Norway attacks}} {{Main|2011 Norway attacks}}
In July 2011, ] was arrested and charged with terrorism after a car bombing in ] and a mass shooting on ] island that killed 77 people. Hours prior to the events, Breivik released a 1,500-page manifesto detailing his beliefs that immigrants were undermining Norway's traditional Christian values, and identifying himself as a "Christian crusader" while describing himself as not very religious.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://publicintelligence.net/anders-behring-breiviks-complete-manifesto-2083-a-european-declaration-of-independence/|title=Anders Behring Breivik's Complete Manifesto "2083 – A European Declaration of Independence"|date=July 28, 2011|accessdate=January 19, 2015|publisher=Public Intelligence|quote=If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God then you are a religious Christian. Myself and many more like me do not necessarily have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God. We do however believe in Christianity as a cultural, social, identity and moral platform. This makes us Christian...You don’t need to have a personal relationship with God or Jesus to fight for our Christian cultural heritage. It is enough that you are a Christian-agnostic or a Christian-atheist (an atheist who wants to preserve at least the basics of the European Christian cultural legacy (Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter)).}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/world/europe/15norway.html|title=Suspect in Norway Reconstructs Killings for Police|first=Michael|last=Schwirtz|date=14 August 2011|accessdate=17 August 2011|newspaper=New York Times}}</ref><ref name="ibtimes0725">. ''International Business Times''. (25 July 2011). Accessed 26 July 2011.</ref> Although initial news reports described him as a Christian fundamentalist,<ref name="BBC-1">{{Cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14259356 |title=Scores killed in Norway attack |date=23 July 2011 |work=BBC |location=UK |accessdate=23 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://archive.today/ww1a|title=When Christianity becomes lethal|first=Susan Brooks|last=Thistlethwaite|date=25 July 2011|accessdate=17 August 2011|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> subsequent analyses of his motivations have noted that he did not only display Christian terrorist inclinations, but also had non-religious, right-wing beliefs.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.yahoo.com/christian-terrorist-norway-case-strikes-debate-181559379.html|title='Christian terrorist'? Norway case strikes debate|first=Jesse|last=Washington|date=31 July 2011|accessdate=3 October 2014|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/07/23/f-analysis-norway-shooter-extremist.html|title=Norway's shooter: Delusional loner or far-right conspirator?|first=Robert|last=Sheppard|date=24 July 2011|accessdate=17 August 2011|publisher=CBC News}}</ref> ] and John Mark Reynolds have stated that the events were Christian terrorism,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/4910/is_norway%E2%80%99s_suspected_murderer_anders_breivik_a_christian_terrorist|title=Is Norway's Suspected Murderer Anders Breivik a Christian Terrorist?|first=Mark|last=Juergensmeyer|authorlink=Mark Juergensmeyer|date=24 July 2011|accessdate=17 August 2011|newspaper=Religious Dispatches Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/post/breivik-betrays-christianity/2011/07/28/gIQA9Rt2eI_blog.html|title=Breivik betrays Christianity|first=John Mark|last=Reynolds|date=28 July 2011|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> whereas ] has rejected the Christian terrorist label.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/post/breivik-a-christian-terrorist-but-not-christian-terrorist/2011/07/29/gIQAv6o3gI_blog.html|title=Breivik a Christian, terrorist but not 'Christian terrorist'|first=Brad|last=Hirschfield|authorlink=Brad Hirschfield|date=29 July 2011|accessdate=17 August 2011|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> In July 2011, ] was arrested and charged with terrorism after a car bombing in ] and a mass shooting on ] island that killed 77 people. Hours prior to the events, Breivik released a 1,500-page manifesto detailing his beliefs that immigrants were undermining Norway's traditional Christian values, and identifying himself as a "Christian crusader" while describing himself as not very religious.<ref>{{cite web|url=/anders-behring-breiviks-complete-manifesto-2083-a-european-declaration-of-independence/|title=Anders Behring Breivik's Complete Manifesto "2083 – A European Declaration of Independence"|date=July 28, 2011|accessdate=January 19, 2015|publisher=Public Intelligence|quote=If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God then you are a religious Christian. Myself and many more like me do not necessarily have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God. We do however believe in Christianity as a cultural, social, identity and moral platform. This makes us Christian...You don’t need to have a personal relationship with God or Jesus to fight for our Christian cultural heritage. It is enough that you are a Christian-agnostic or a Christian-atheist (an atheist who wants to preserve at least the basics of the European Christian cultural legacy (Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter)).}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=/2011/08/15/world/europe/15norway.html|title=Suspect in Norway Reconstructs Killings for Police|first=Michael|last=Schwirtz|date=14 August 2011|accessdate=17 August 2011|newspaper=New York Times}}</ref><ref name="ibtimes0725">. ''International Business Times''. (25 July 2011). Accessed 26 July 2011.</ref> Although initial news reports described him as a Christian fundamentalist,<ref name="BBC-1">{{Cite news |url=/news/world-europe-14259356 |title=Scores killed in Norway attack |date=23 July 2011 |work=BBC |location=UK |accessdate=23 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=/ww1a|title=When Christianity becomes lethal|first=Susan Brooks|last=Thistlethwaite|date=25 July 2011|accessdate=17 August 2011|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> subsequent analyses of his motivations have noted that he did not only display Christian terrorist inclinations, but also had non-religious, right-wing beliefs.<ref>{{cite news|url=/christian-terrorist-norway-case-strikes-debate-181559379.html|title='Christian terrorist'? Norway case strikes debate|first=Jesse|last=Washington|date=31 July 2011|accessdate=3 October 2014|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=/news/world/story/2011/07/23/f-analysis-norway-shooter-extremist.html|title=Norway's shooter: Delusional loner or far-right conspirator?|first=Robert|last=Sheppard|date=24 July 2011|accessdate=17 August 2011|publisher=CBC News}}</ref> ] and John Mark Reynolds have stated that the events were Christian terrorism,<ref>{{Cite news|url=/archive/politics/4910/is_norway%E2%80%99s_suspected_murderer_anders_breivik_a_christian_terrorist|title=Is Norway's Suspected Murderer Anders Breivik a Christian Terrorist?|first=Mark|last=Juergensmeyer|authorlink=Mark Juergensmeyer|date=24 July 2011|accessdate=17 August 2011|newspaper=Religious Dispatches Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=/blogs/on-faith/post/breivik-betrays-christianity/2011/07/28/gIQA9Rt2eI_blog.html|title=Breivik betrays Christianity|first=John Mark|last=Reynolds|date=28 July 2011|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> whereas ] has rejected the Christian terrorist label.<ref>{{Cite news|url=/blogs/on-faith/post/breivik-a-christian-terrorist-but-not-christian-terrorist/2011/07/29/gIQAv6o3gI_blog.html|title=Breivik a Christian, terrorist but not 'Christian terrorist'|first=Brad|last=Hirschfield|authorlink=Brad Hirschfield|date=29 July 2011|accessdate=17 August 2011|newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref>


=== Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda === === Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda ===


The ], a ] and ] army, was engaged in an ] against the ] in 2005. It has been accused of using ] and of committing numerous ]; including massacres, abductions, mutilation, torture, rape, and using forced child labourers as soldiers, porters, and sex slaves.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/katine/2007/oct/20/about.uganda|publisher=The Guardian|title=Background: the Lord's Resistance Army|author=Xan Rice|date=20 October 2007 | location=London}}</ref> A quasi-religious movement that mixes some aspects of Christian beliefs with its own brand of spiritualism,<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E1DA123BF937A3575BC0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|publisher=New York Times|title=Uganda's Terror Crackdown Multiplies the Suffering|author=Marc Lacey|date=4 August 2002}}</ref><ref> The scars of death: children abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda By Human Rights Watch/Africa 1997 page 72</ref> it is led by ], who proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a ], primarily of the "Holy Spirit" which the ] believe can represent itself in many manifestations.<ref name="African Affairs vol 98">{{cite journal|journal=African Affairs|volume=98|author=Ruddy Doom and Koen Vlassenroot|title=Kony's message: A new Koine? The Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda|year=1999|publisher=Oxford Journals / Royal African Society |pages=5–36 |issue=390 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a008002}}</ref><ref name="African Affairs vol 98"/><ref>{{cite news |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1917652.stm |title=Ugandan rebels raid Sudanese villages|date=8 April 2002 |accessdate=2 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=K. Ward |title=The Armies of the Lord: Christianity, Rebels and the State in Northern Uganda, 1986–1999 |year=2001|volume=31|journal=Journal of Religion in Africa | issue=2|doi=10.1163/157006601X00121|page=187}}</ref> LRA fighters wear rosary beads and recite passages from the Bible before battle.<ref name=autogenerated1 /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/04/africa_ugandan_rebels_come_home/html/6.stm |publisher=BBC News |title=In pictures: Ugandan rebels come home |quote=One of the differences on the LRA pips is a white bible inside a heart |accessdate=2 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/08/03/wugand03.xml|publisher=The Telegraph|title= I killed so many I lost count, says boy, 11|date=3 August 2005|author=David Blair|location=London}} {{Dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/560b19de-d395-11dc-b861-0000779fd2ac.html|publisher=Financial Times|title=Africa’s Most Wanted|author=Matthew Green|date=8 February 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article3449276.ece|publisher=The Times|title=The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Africa’s Most Wanted by Matthew Green|author=Christina Lamb|date=2 March 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/18/international/africa/18uganda.html|title=Atrocity Victims in Uganda Choose to Forgive|publisher=New York Times|author=Marc Lacey|date=18 April 2005}}</ref> The ], a ] and ] army, was engaged in an ] against the ] in 2005. It has been accused of using ] and of committing numerous ]; including massacres, abductions, mutilation, torture, rape, and using forced child labourers as soldiers, porters, and sex slaves.<ref>{{cite news|url=/katine/2007/oct/20/about.uganda|publisher=The Guardian|title=Background: the Lord's Resistance Army|author=Xan Rice|date=20 October 2007 | location=London}}</ref> A quasi-religious movement that mixes some aspects of Christian beliefs with its own brand of spiritualism,<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news|url=/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E1DA123BF937A3575BC0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|publisher=New York Times|title=Uganda's Terror Crackdown Multiplies the Suffering|author=Marc Lacey|date=4 August 2002}}</ref><ref> The scars of death: children abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda By Human Rights Watch/Africa 1997 page 72</ref> it is led by ], who proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a ], primarily of the "Holy Spirit" which the ] believe can represent itself in many manifestations.<ref name="African%25252525252520Affairs%25252525252520vol%2525252525252098">{{cite journal|journal=African Affairs|volume=98|author=Ruddy Doom and Koen Vlassenroot|title=Kony's message: A new Koine? The Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda|year=1999|publisher=Oxford Journals / Royal African Society |pages=5–36 |issue=390 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a008002}}</ref><ref name="African%25252525252520Affairs%25252525252520vol%2525252525252098"/><ref>{{cite news |publisher=BBC News |url=/1/hi/world/africa/1917652.stm |title=Ugandan rebels raid Sudanese villages|date=8 April 2002 |accessdate=2 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=K. Ward |title=The Armies of the Lord: Christianity, Rebels and the State in Northern Uganda, 1986–1999 |year=2001|volume=31|journal=Journal of Religion in Africa | issue=2|doi=10.1163/157006601X00121|page=187}}</ref> LRA fighters wear rosary beads and recite passages from the Bible before battle.<ref name=autogenerated1 /><ref>{{cite news |url=/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/04/africa_ugandan_rebels_come_home/html/6.stm |publisher=BBC News |title=In pictures: Ugandan rebels come home |quote=One of the differences on the LRA pips is a white bible inside a heart |accessdate=2 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/08/03/wugand03.xml|publisher=The Telegraph|title= I killed so many I lost count, says boy, 11|date=3 August 2005|author=David Blair|location=London}} {{Dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=/cms/s/0/560b19de-d395-11dc-b861-0000779fd2ac.html|publisher=Financial Times|title=Africa’s Most Wanted|author=Matthew Green|date=8 February 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article3449276.ece|publisher=The Times|title=The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Africa’s Most Wanted by Matthew Green|author=Christina Lamb|date=2 March 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=/2005/04/18/international/africa/18uganda.html|title=Atrocity Victims in Uganda Choose to Forgive|publisher=New York Times|author=Marc Lacey|date=18 April 2005}}</ref>


=== Christian Identity and anti-abortion violence in the United States === === Christian Identity and anti-abortion violence in the United States ===


{{See also|Anti-abortion violence in the United States|Christian terrorism in the United States}} {{See also|Anti-abortion violence in the United States|Christian terrorism in the United States}}
After 1981, members of groups such as the ] began attacking ]s and ] across the United States.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=National Organization for Women|title=Kopp Lays Groundwork to Justify Murdering Abortion Provider Slepian|date=2 December 2002|author=Frederick Clarkson|url=http://www.now.org/eNews/dec2002/120202kopp.html}}</ref><ref name=wp19950117> After 1981, members of groups such as the ] began attacking ]s and ] across the United States.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=National Organization for Women|title=Kopp Lays Groundwork to Justify Murdering Abortion Provider Slepian|date=2 December 2002|author=Frederick Clarkson|url=/eNews/dec2002/120202kopp.html}}</ref><ref name=wp19950117>
{{cite news|title=Clinic Killings Follow Years of Antiabortion Violence|author=Laurie Goodstein and Pierre Thomas|publisher=Washington Post|date=17 January 1995|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/abortviolence/stories/salvi3.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Army Of God' Anthrax Threats|date=9 November 2001|publisher=CBS News|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/11/09/national/main317573.shtml}}</ref> A number of terrorist attacks were attributed by ] to individuals and groups with ties to the ] and ] movements, including the Lambs of Christ.<ref name="inside">{{cite book|author=Bruce Hoffman|title=Inside Terrorism|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=0-231-11468-0|year=1998}}</ref> A group called ] was deported from Israel on suspicion of planning to attack holy sites in ] at the end of 1999; they believed that their deaths would "lead them to heaven".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9901/03/israel.cult.arrests.02/index.html |title=Apocalyptic Christians detained in Israel for alleged violence plot |date=3 January 1999 |publisher=CNN |deadurl=yes}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |publisher=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/251815.stm |title=Cult members deported from Israel |date=9 January 1999 |accessdate=2 January 2010}}</ref> {{cite news|title=Clinic Killings Follow Years of Antiabortion Violence|author=Laurie Goodstein and Pierre Thomas|publisher=Washington Post|date=17 January 1995|url=/wp-srv/national/longterm/abortviolence/stories/salvi3.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title='Army Of God' Anthrax Threats|date=9 November 2001|publisher=CBS News|url=/stories/2001/11/09/national/main317573.shtml}}</ref> A number of terrorist attacks were attributed by ] to individuals and groups with ties to the ] and ] movements, including the Lambs of Christ.<ref name="inside">{{cite book|author=Bruce Hoffman|title=Inside Terrorism|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=0-231-11468-0|year=1998}}</ref> A group called ] was deported from Israel on suspicion of planning to attack holy sites in ] at the end of 1999; they believed that their deaths would "lead them to heaven".<ref>{{cite news |url=/WORLD/meast/9901/03/israel.cult.arrests.02/index.html |title=Apocalyptic Christians detained in Israel for alleged violence plot |date=3 January 1999 |publisher=CNN |deadurl=yes}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |publisher=BBC News |url=/1/hi/world/middle_east/251815.stm |title=Cult members deported from Israel |date=9 January 1999 |accessdate=2 January 2010}}</ref>


The motive for anti-abortionist ] murdering Wichita doctor ] on 31 May 2009 was the belief that abortion is not only immoral, but also a form of murder under "God's law", irrespective of "man's law" in any country, and that this belief went "hand in hand" with his religious beliefs.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Houston Belief|url=http://blogs.chron.com/believeitornot/2010/02/george_tillers_killer_has_no_r.html|title=George Tiller's killer has no regrets, doesn't ask for forgiveness |date=9 February 1999|accessdate=28 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |publisher=New York Times |first=Monica |last=Davey |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/us/29roeder.html |title=Doctor’s Killer Puts Abortion on the Stand |date=28 January 2010 |accessdate=10 May 2011}}</ref> The group supporting Roeder proclaimed that any force is "legitimate to protect the life of an unborn child", and called on all Christians to "rise up" and "take action" against threats to Christianity and to unborn life.<ref>{{cite web|last=Leach|first=David|title=Defensive Action Statement (3rd Edition) | url = http://www.saltshaker.us/Scott-Roeder-Resources/DefensiveActionStatement3rdEdition.pdf | accessdate = 27 October 2013}}</ref> ] carried out the ] in 1996, as well as subsequent attacks on an abortion clinic and a ] nightclub. ], a professor at Syracuse University, considers Rudolph to likely fit the definition of a Christian terrorist. James A. Aho, a professor at Idaho State University, argues that religious considerations inspired Rudolph only in part.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cooperman |first=Alan The motive for anti-abortionist ] murdering Wichita doctor ] on 31 May 2009 was the belief that abortion is not only immoral, but also a form of murder under "God's law", irrespective of "man's law" in any country, and that this belief went "hand in hand" with his religious beliefs.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Houston Belief|url=/believeitornot/2010/02/george_tillers_killer_has_no_r.html|title=George Tiller's killer has no regrets, doesn't ask for forgiveness |date=9 February 1999|accessdate=28 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |publisher=New York Times |first=Monica |last=Davey |url=/2010/01/29/us/29roeder.html |title=Doctor’s Killer Puts Abortion on the Stand |date=28 January 2010 |accessdate=10 May 2011}}</ref> The group supporting Roeder proclaimed that any force is "legitimate to protect the life of an unborn child", and called on all Christians to "rise up" and "take action" against threats to Christianity and to unborn life.<ref>{{cite web|last=Leach|first=David|title=Defensive Action Statement (3rd Edition) | url =/Scott-Roeder-Resources/DefensiveActionStatement3rdEdition.pdf | accessdate = 27 October 2013}}</ref> ] carried out the ] in 1996, as well as subsequent attacks on an abortion clinic and a ] nightclub. ], a professor at Syracuse University, considers Rudolph to likely fit the definition of a Christian terrorist. James A. Aho, a professor at Idaho State University, argues that religious considerations inspired Rudolph only in part.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cooperman |first=Alan
|url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/342577631.html?dids=342577631:342577631&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+02%2C+2003&author=Alan+Cooperman&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Is+Terrorism+Tied+To+Christian+Sect%3F%3B+Religion+May+Have+Motivated+Bombing+Suspect&pqatl=google |url=/washingtonpost/access/342577631.html?dids=342577631:342577631&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jun+02%2C+2003&author=Alan+Cooperman&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=Is+Terrorism+Tied+To+Christian+Sect%3F%3B+Religion+May+Have+Motivated+Bombing+Suspect&pqatl=google
|title=Is Terrorism Tied To Christian Sect? Religion May Have Motivated Bombing: Suspect |title=Is Terrorism Tied To Christian Sect? Religion May Have Motivated Bombing: Suspect
|newspaper=Washington Post |date=2 June 2003 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=2 June 2003
|quote='Based on what we know of Rudolph so far, and admittedly it's fragmentary, there seems to be a fairly high likelihood that he can legitimately be called a Christian terrorist,' said Michael Barkun, a professor of political science at Syracuse University who has been a consultant to the FBI on Christian extremist groups. |accessdate=10 August 2011}}</ref> |quote='Based on what we know of Rudolph so far, and admittedly it's fragmentary, there seems to be a fairly high likelihood that he can legitimately be called a Christian terrorist,' said Michael Barkun, a professor of political science at Syracuse University who has been a consultant to the FBI on Christian extremist groups. |accessdate=10 August 2011}}</ref>


Terrorism scholar Aref M. Al-Khattar has listed ] (CSA), ], the ], and some "Christian militia" as groups that "can be placed under the category of far-right-wing terrorism" that "has a religious (Christian) component".<ref>{{cite book |last=Al-Khattar |first=Aref M. |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=V1xukwRq2cUC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA30#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Religion and terrorism: an interfaith perspective |year=2003 |publisher=Praeger |location=Westport, CT |pages=21, 30 |isbn=9780275969233}}</ref> Terrorism scholar Aref M. Al-Khattar has listed ] (CSA), ], the ], and some "Christian militia" as groups that "can be placed under the category of far-right-wing terrorism" that "has a religious (Christian) component".<ref>{{cite book |last=Al-Khattar |first=Aref M. |url=/books?id=V1xukwRq2cUC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA30#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Religion and terrorism: an interfaith perspective |year=2003 |publisher=Praeger |location=Westport, CT |pages=21, 30 |isbn=9780275969233}}</ref>


In 1996 three men—Charles Barbee, Robert Berry and Jay Merelle—were charged with two bank robberies and bombings at the banks, a Spokane newspaper, and a Planned Parenthood office in Washington state. The men were anti-Semetic ] who believed that God wanted them to carry out violent attacks and that such attacks will hasten the ascendancy of Aryan race.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues|last = Martin|first = Gus|publisher = SAGE Publications, Inc|year = 2003|isbn = 978-0761926153|location = |pages = }}</ref> In 1996 three men—Charles Barbee, Robert Berry and Jay Merelle—were charged with two bank robberies and bombings at the banks, a Spokane newspaper, and a Planned Parenthood office in Washington state. The men were anti-Semetic ] who believed that God wanted them to carry out violent attacks and that such attacks will hasten the ascendancy of Aryan race.<ref name="%2525252525253A0">{{Cite book|title = Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues|last = Martin|first = Gus|publisher = SAGE Publications, Inc|year = 2003|isbn = 978-0761926153|location = |pages = }}</ref>


== See also == == See also ==

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Christian terrorism comprises terrorist acts by groups or individuals who cite motivations or goals that they interpret to be Christian, or within a more basic context of sectarian violence and/or prejudices such as religious intolerance. As with other forms of religious terrorism, they have cited interpretations of tenets of their faith as their inspiration to justify violence and killing.

Global ideologies

See also: Anti-abortion violence, Christian Patriot movement, and Christian Identity movement

Christian views on abortion have been cited by Christian individuals and groups that are responsible for threatening, assaulting and murdering doctors, and for bombing their abortion clinics across the United States and Canada.

Christian Identity is a loosely affiliated global group of churches and individuals devoted to a racialized theology which asserts that North European whites are the direct descendants of the lost tribes of Israel, God's chosen people. It has been associated with groups such as the Aryan Nations, Aryan Republican Army, Army of God, Phineas Priesthood, and The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord. It has been cited as an influence on a number of terrorist attacks around the world, including the 2002 Soweto bombings.

Following the killings in Norway by Anders Breivik in 2011, analyst Daryl Johnson of the United States Department of Homeland Security said that the Hutaree Christian militia movement possessed more weapons than the combined weapons holdings of all Islamic terror defendants charged in the US since the September 11 attacks.

Historical

Gunpowder Plot

Main article: Gunpowder Plot

The early modern period in Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation and the introduction of Protestant state churches. The 1605 Gunpowder Plot was a failed attempt by a group of English Catholics including Guy Fawkes to assassinate King James I, and to blow up the Palace of Westminster, the English seat of government. According to Vahabph D. Aghai, "The beginnings of modern terrorism can be traced back to England and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605." Sue Mahan and Pamala L. Griset classify the plot as religious terrorism, writing that "Fawkes and his colleagues justified their actions in terms of religion." Peter Steinfels also characterizes this plot as a notable case of religious terrorism.

Pogroms

See also: Religious persecution and Ethnic cleansing

Orthodox Christian movements in Romania, such as the Iron Guard and Lăncieri, which have been characterized by Yad Vashem and Stanley G. Payne as anti-semitic and fascist, respectively, were responsible for involvement in the Bucharest pogrom, and political murders during the 1930s.

Ku Klux Klan

Main article: Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan with a burning cross
The End. Victoriously slaying Catholic influence in the U.S. Illustration by Rev. Branford Clarke from Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty 1926 by Bishop Alma White, published by the Pillar of Fire Church in Zarephath, NJ.

After the American Civil War of 1861–1865, members of the Protestant-led Ku Klux Klan (KKK) organization began engaging in arson, beatings, destruction of property, lynching, murder, rape, tar-and-feathering, whipping and intimidation via such means as cross burning. They targeted African Americans, Jews, Catholics, and other social or ethnic minorities.

Klan members had an explicitly Christian terrorist ideology, basing their beliefs in part on a "religious foundation" in Christianity. The goals of the KKK included, from an early time onward, an intent to "reestablish Protestant Christian values in America by any means possible", and they believed that "Jesus was the first Klansman." From 1915 onward, Klansmen conducted cross-burnings not only to intimidate targets, but also to demonstrate their respect and reverence for Jesus Christ, and the ritual of lighting crosses was steeped in Christian symbolism, including making prayer and singing Christian hymns. Within Christianity the Klan directed hostilities against Catholics. Modern Klan organizations, such as the Knights Party, USA, continue to focus on the Christian supremacist message, detecting a "war" which allegedly aims to destroy "western Christian civilization."

Contemporary

Anti-Hindu violence in India

Tripura

Further information: Tripura rebellion

The National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), is a rebel group that seeks the secession of Tripura, North-East India, and is a proscribed terrorist organization in India. Group activities have been described as Christian terrorists engaging in terrorist violence motivated by their Christian beliefs. The NLFT includes in its aims the forced conversion of all tribespeople in Tripura to Christianity. The NLFT says that it is fighting not only for the removal of Bengali immigrants from the tribal areas, "but also for the tribal areas of the state to become overtly Christian", and "has warned members of the tribal community that they may be attacked if they do not accept its Christian agenda". The NLFT is listed as a terrorist organization in the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002. The state government contends that the Baptist Church of Tripura supplies arms and gives financial support to the NLFT. Reports from the state government and Indian media describe activities such as the acquisition by the NLFT of explosives through the Noapara Baptist Church in Tripura, and threats of killing Hindus celebrating religious festivals. Over 20 Hindus in Tripura were reported to have been killed by the NLFT from 1999 to 2001 for resisting forced conversion to Christianity. According to Hindus in the area, there have also been forced conversions of tribal villagers to Christianity by armed NLFT militants.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). In 2000, the NLFT broke into a temple and gunned down a popular Hindu preacher popularly known as Shanti Kali.

Odisha

See also: Religious violence in Odisha

In 2007 a tribal spiritual Hindu monk, Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati, accused Radhakant Nayak, chief of a local chapter of World Vision, and a former Rajya Sabha member from Odisha in the Indian National Congress party, of plotting to assassinate him. The Swami also said that World Vision was covertly pumping money into India for religious conversion during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and criticized the activities of Christian missionaries as going against tribal beliefs. In 2008, he was gunned down along with four disciples on the Hindu festive day of Krishna Janmashtami by a group of 30–40 armed men. Later, the Maoist terrorist leader Sabyasachi Panda admitted responsibility for the assassination, saying that the Maoists had intervened in the religious dispute on behalf of Christians and Dalits. The non-governmental organization Justice on Trial disputed that there had been Maoist involvement, and quoted the Swami as claiming that Christian missionaries had earlier attacked him eight times.

Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon

Maronite Christian militias perpetrated the Karantina and Tel al-Zaatar massacres of Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims during Lebanon's 1975–1990 civil war. The 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre, which targeted unarmed Palestinian refugees for rape and murder, was considered to be genocide by the United Nations General Assembly. A British photographer present during the incident said that "People who committed the acts of murder that I saw that day were wearing and were calling themselves Christians." After the end of the civil war, Christian militias refused to disband, concentrating in the Israeli-occupied south of the country, where they terrorized Muslim and Druze villages and forcefully recruited men and boys from those communities into their groups.

Northern Ireland paramilitaries

The Troubles in Northern Ireland are widely seen as an ethno-nationalist conflict that was not religious in nature. Some experts who subscribe to this view argue that religion was also a motivating factor, with Philip Purpura calling it an "overlap" between religious terrorism and ethnic/nationalist terrorism, a characterization that is at odds with multiple other analysts.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

Sociology professor Steve Bruce characterised three small loyalist splinter groups – the Orange Volunteers, Loyalist Volunteer Force, and Red Hand Defenders – as terrorist groups motivated by violent "Christian imagery" preached by Protestant evangelicals. The leader of the Orange Volunteers, pastor Clifford Peeples, defended their attacks on Catholic churches on the basis that they were "bastions of the Antichrist".

Utøya Island killings in Norway

Main article: 2011 Norway attacks

In July 2011, Anders Behring Breivik was arrested and charged with terrorism after a car bombing in Oslo and a mass shooting on Utøya island that killed 77 people. Hours prior to the events, Breivik released a 1,500-page manifesto detailing his beliefs that immigrants were undermining Norway's traditional Christian values, and identifying himself as a "Christian crusader" while describing himself as not very religious. Although initial news reports described him as a Christian fundamentalist, subsequent analyses of his motivations have noted that he did not only display Christian terrorist inclinations, but also had non-religious, right-wing beliefs. Mark Juergensmeyer and John Mark Reynolds have stated that the events were Christian terrorism, whereas Brad Hirschfield has rejected the Christian terrorist label.

Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda

The Lord's Resistance Army, a cult and guerrilla army, was engaged in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government in 2005. It has been accused of using child soldiers and of committing numerous crimes against humanity; including massacres, abductions, mutilation, torture, rape, and using forced child labourers as soldiers, porters, and sex slaves. A quasi-religious movement that mixes some aspects of Christian beliefs with its own brand of spiritualism, it is led by Joseph Kony, who proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a spirit medium, primarily of the "Holy Spirit" which the Acholi believe can represent itself in many manifestations. LRA fighters wear rosary beads and recite passages from the Bible before battle.

Christian Identity and anti-abortion violence in the United States

See also: Anti-abortion violence in the United States and Christian terrorism in the United States

After 1981, members of groups such as the Army of God began attacking abortion clinics and doctors across the United States. A number of terrorist attacks were attributed by Bruce Hoffman to individuals and groups with ties to the Christian Identity and Christian Patriot movements, including the Lambs of Christ. A group called Concerned Christians was deported from Israel on suspicion of planning to attack holy sites in Jerusalem at the end of 1999; they believed that their deaths would "lead them to heaven".

The motive for anti-abortionist Scott Roeder murdering Wichita doctor George Tiller on 31 May 2009 was the belief that abortion is not only immoral, but also a form of murder under "God's law", irrespective of "man's law" in any country, and that this belief went "hand in hand" with his religious beliefs. The group supporting Roeder proclaimed that any force is "legitimate to protect the life of an unborn child", and called on all Christians to "rise up" and "take action" against threats to Christianity and to unborn life. Eric Robert Rudolph carried out the Centennial Olympic Park bombing in 1996, as well as subsequent attacks on an abortion clinic and a lesbian nightclub. Michael Barkun, a professor at Syracuse University, considers Rudolph to likely fit the definition of a Christian terrorist. James A. Aho, a professor at Idaho State University, argues that religious considerations inspired Rudolph only in part.

Terrorism scholar Aref M. Al-Khattar has listed The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA), Defensive Action, the Montana Freemen, and some "Christian militia" as groups that "can be placed under the category of far-right-wing terrorism" that "has a religious (Christian) component".

In 1996 three men—Charles Barbee, Robert Berry and Jay Merelle—were charged with two bank robberies and bombings at the banks, a Spokane newspaper, and a Planned Parenthood office in Washington state. The men were anti-Semetic Christian Identity theorists who believed that God wanted them to carry out violent attacks and that such attacks will hasten the ascendancy of Aryan race.

See also

References

  1. B. Hoffman, "Inside Terrorism", Columbia University Press, 1999, pp. 105–120. ISBN 978-0231126991
  2. Mark S. Hamm (2001). In Bad Company: America's Terrorist Underground. Northeastern. ISBN 1-55553-492-9.
  3. James Alfred Aho (1995). The Politics of Righteousness: Idaho Christian Patriotism. University of Washington Press. p. 86. ISBN 0-295-97494-X.
  4. Alan Cooperman (2 June 2003). . Washington Post. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  5. Martin Schönteich and Henri Boshoff (2003). . Pretoria, South Africa, Institute for Security Studies. ISBN 1-919913-30-0. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
  6. Shane, Scott (24 July 2011). (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 3 November 2014. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  7. The Reformation in England and Scotland and Ireland: The Reformation Period & Ireland under Elizabeth I, Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
  8. Aghai, Vahabph D. (2011). . Xlibris Corporation. p. 14. Retrieved 12 December 2014. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
  9. Mahan, Sue; Griset, Pamala L. (2013). "Religious Terrorism: Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot". (3rd ed.). Sage Publications. pp. 42–44. ISBN 9781452225456. Like many terrorists throughout history, Fawkes and his colleagues justified their actions in terms of religion. Like other instances of 'holy terror', the Gunpowder Plot was deeply rooted in events that had occurred long before. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
  10. Peter Steinfels (5 November 2005). . New York Times. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  11. Paul Tinichigiu (January 2004). . The Central Europe Center for Research and Documentation. Retrieved 26 November 2013. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. Radu Ioanid (2004). "The Sacralised Politics of the Romanian Iron Guard". Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions. 5 (3): 419–453(35). doi:10.1080/1469076042000312203.
  13. Leon Volovici. Nationalist Ideology and Antisemitism. p. 98. ISBN 0-08-041024-3. citing N. Cainic, Ortodoxie şi etnocraţie, pp. 162–4
  14. (PDF). Background and precursors to the Holocaust. Yad Vashem – The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority. {{cite journal}}: Check |url= value (help)
  15. Payne, Stanley G. (1995). A History of Fascism 1914–1945. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press (pp. 277–289) ISBN 0-299-14874-2
  16. Al-Khattar, Aref M. (2003). Religion and terrorism: an interfaith perspective. Westport, CT: Praeger. pp. 21, 30.
  17. Al-Khattar, Aref M. (2003). Religion and terrorism: an interfaith perspective. Westport, CT: Praeger. pp. 21, 30, 55, 91.
  18. Michael, Robert, and Philip Rosen. Dictionary of antisemitism from the earliest times to the present. Lanham, Maryland, USA: Scarecrow Press, 1997 p. 267.
  19. Wade, Wyn Craig (1998). . USA: Oxford University Press. p. 185. ISBN 9780195123579. Retrieved 3 May 2011. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
  20. Adam, de Cordier, Titeca, and Vlassenroot (2007). "In the Name of the Father? Christian Militantism in Tripura, Northern Uganda, and Ambon". Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. 30 (11): 963. doi:10.1080/10576100701611288.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. Kumar, B.B. (2007). . New Delhi, India: Concept Publishing Company. p. 23. ISBN 818069464X. Retrieved 21 October 2014. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
  22. ^ . BBC News. 28 August 2000. Retrieved 18 September 2014. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  23. . BBC News. 21 May 2000. Retrieved 23 November 2014. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  24. . Republic of India. South Asia Terrorism Portal. 2002. Retrieved 1 March 2009. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  25. . South Asia Terrorism Portal. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  26. . South Asia Terrorism Portal. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  27. ^ Bhaumik, Subhir (18 April 2000). . BBC News. Retrieved 26 August 2006. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  28. . BBC News. 2 October 2000. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  29. rediff.com: Tribals unite against conversions in Tripura
  30. . The Pioneer Archive. 27 December 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2013. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  31. . Retrieved 5 October 2014. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  32. Net closes in on Cong MP for Orissa swami’s murder - Indian Express
  33. Why Swami Laxmanananda was killed
  34. . The Times Of India. 5 October 2008. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  35. Swami Laxmanananda feared for his life: NGO : Latest Headlines: News India Today
  37. United Nations (16 December 1982). . Retrieved 17 January 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  38. BBC News (17 June 2001). . Retrieved 17 January 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help) The transcription actually says "crucifixions" instead of "crucifixes".
  39. http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/lebanon/Isrlb997-07.htm
  40. Coakley, John. . Retrieved 15 February 2009. ...these attitudes are not rooted particularly in religious belief, but rather in underlying ethnonational identity patterns. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  41. Interview with Bruce Hoffman; "A Conversation with Bruce Hoffman and Jeffrey Goldberg" in Religion, Culture and International Conflict: A Conversation, edited by Michael Cromartie. Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. p.30. Quote: "I define terrorism as 'religious' when some liturgy, scripture, or clerical authority is involved in sanctioning the violent act. Now there are all sorts of groups around the world that use force and can be identified using religious terms but are not 'religious' in the sense that I am using the term. In Northern Ireland, for instance, Protestants and Catholics fight using terrorist (or as they say locally, 'paramilitary') tactics, but theological justifications play little or no role."
  42. Jenkins, Richard (1997). Rethinking Ethnicity: Arguments and Explorations. SAGE Publications. p. 120. It should, I think, be apparent that the Northern Irish conflict is not a religious conflict... Although religion has a place—and indeed an important one—in the repertoire of conflict in Northern Ireland, the majority of participants see the situation as primarily concerned with matters of politics and nationalism, not religion. And there is no reason to disagree with them.
  43. Griffin, Emily (2012). "12: In Violence and in Peace – the role of religion and human security in Northern Ireland". Religion and Human Security: A Global Perspective. Oxford University Press. p. 214. Many scholars like Richardson believe that the religious nature of the dispute has been overemphasized. Richard Jenkins et al (1986) believe that although religion has a place in the "repertoire of conflict" in Northern Ireland, it is apparent that the situation was primarily concerned with matters of politics and nationalism, not religious issues. Edna Longley has argued that it is better described as a culture war in which both sides have been merely defined by their religious denominations. In an editorial column in the National Catholic Reporter, Eoin McKiernan told readers that the "religious conflict in Northern Ireland is a misnomer for political strife". In 2007, William Cardinal Conway, former archbishop of Armagh, referred to the issues as "basically political, social and economic" in nature. Hayes and McAllister suggest that the terms 'Protestant' and 'Catholic' play no greater role in shaping the conflict beyond providing convenient identifying labels for the protagonists.
  44. Mitchell, Claire (2013). Religion, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland. Ashgate Publishing. p. 5. The most popular school of thought on religion is encapsulated in McGarry and O'Leary's Explaining Northern Ireland (1995), and is echoed by Coulter (1999) and Clayton (1998). The central argument is that religion is an ethnic marker, but that it is not generally politically relevant in and of itself. Instead, ethnonationalism lies at the root of the conflict. Hayes and McAllister (1999a) point out that this represents something of an academic consensus.
  45. Tannam, Etain (2014). International Intervention in Ethnic Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan. In 1983 the European Parliament's Political Affairs Committee commissioned a report, chaired by the Dutch Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Nils Haagerup, on resolving the conflict in Northern Ireland. The Haagerup Report aimed to explain the situation of conflict in Northern Ireland to non-British and non-Irish MEPs The report defined the conflict as being one of 'conflicting national identities', not a religious conflict between the two communities…
  46. Moore, Margaret (2001). "3:Globalization, Cosmopolitanism, and Minority Nationalism". Minority Nationalism and the Changing International Order. Oxford University Press. p. 50. In Northern Ireland, where there are two distinct and mutually antagonistic national communities on the same territory, the conflict between the two groups is not about some objective cultural difference. Despite a common misconception, it is not religious in nature. The groups are not arguing over the details of doctrinal interpretation. Religious leaders – priests, nuns, ministers – are not targets for violence…
  47. Murray, Dominic (1995). "Families in Conflict: Pervasive Violence in Northern Ireland". War: A Cruel Necessity?. I.B.Tauris. p. 68. At the outset, it is essential to state that the conflict in the province is not principally a religious one. It is true that it has been presented as such throughout the world but this is both misleading and not very productive.
  48. Reuter, Tina (2010). "17: Ethnic Conflict". 21st Century Political Science: A Reference Handbook. SAGE Publications. p. 144. The conflicts in Northern Ireland or Israel/Palestine, for example, are not religious conflicts, but political conflicts, because the goals at stake are political, not religious in nature.
  49. Patterson, Eric (2013). "Religion, war and peace: leavening the levels of analysis". The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Security. Routledge. p. 120. Northern Ireland has a long history of difference and discrimination, but no one there was fighting over the number of books in the Bible, about theology, about the nature of communion, about the infallibility of the pope, or any of the things about which Catholics and Protestants differ theologically and ecclesiastically... The Irish Republican Army (IRA) and its political wing Sinn Féin are not religious – although supposedly they were defenders of the Catholics. The IRA judged the institutional Catholic Church as taking a quietistic role, with its head in the sand and consequently supportive of the status quo. In contrast, the IRA and Sinn Féin's intellectual roots are in left of-center, secularist, twentieth-century nationalism rather than in the ideology of a Catholic-inspired insurgency.
  50. Kearney, Richard (1988). Transitions: Narratives in Modern Irish Culture. Manchester University Press. p. 237. In the face of such 'outside' opinion, many Irish citizens would respond: 'but you foreigners don't really understand us; you don't appreciate that the conflict in Northern Ireland, for instance, is not in fact a religious war at all - the IRA or the UDA don't care about the theological doctrines of their religious traditions – the violence is really about opposed tribal fidelities'.
  51. McGarry, John; Brendan O'Leary (15 June 1995). Explaining Northern Ireland. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-631-18349-5.
  52. Northern Ireland hears an echo of itself in Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Aljazeera.com. 31 July 2014. Quote: "Ed Moloney, a journalist and scholar of Irish history, says that while the conflict in Northern Ireland and the one between Israelis and Palestinians share many deep similarities, there are differences that make the latter much harder to resolve.“The Northern Irish conflict is not a religious conflict,” Moloney said."
  53. BBC History – The Troubles. Quote: "This was a territorial conflict, not a religious one. At its heart lay two mutually exclusive visions of national identity and national belonging."
  54. Purpura, Philip (2007). . Butterworth-Heinemann/Elsevier. p. 17. ISBN 9780750678438. Retrieved 8 December 2014. this conflict overlaps religious terrorism because of the violence between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
  55. Richard Jenkins (18 January 2008). . pp. 111–127. ISBN 9781849204934. Retrieved 8 December 2014. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
    "A strong version of the thesis that the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland are, indeed, a conflict of religion has been defended vigorously by John Fulton (1991); more moderate versions have been put forward by John Hickey (1984), Maurice Irvine (1991) and Claire Mitchell (2006)." (page 112)
    "And that the 'troubles' have not been about religion cannot be taken to mean that religious differences are insignificant." (page 127)
    "As I suggested in Chapter 8, although essentially political, the Northern Irish conflict is symbolized and reinforced by an important religious dimension." (page 157)

  56. Politics in the North is not politics exploiting religion. That is far too simple an explanation: it is one which trips readily off the tongue of commentators who are used to a cultural style in which the politically pragmatic is the normal way of conducting affairs and all other considerations are put to its use. In the case of Northern Ireland the relationship is much more complex. It is more a question of religion inspiring politics than of politics making use of religion. It is a situation more akin to the first half of seventeenth‑century England than to the last quarter of twentieth century Britain.John Hickey (1984). Religion and the Northern Ireland Problem. Gill and Macmillan. p. 67. ISBN 978-0717111152.

  57. Moghadam, Assaf (2009). The Roots of Terrorism. Infobase Publishing. p. 106. Finally, religious terrorists differ from secular terrorists in the scale of their goals. The goals of secular groups such as the IRA are limited. Were the IRA, for instance, to succeed in their goals of removing British forces from Northern Ireland and unifying Ireland, then presumably the IRA would no longer have any reason to continue using violence. For religious terrorists, however, the struggle against the "infidels" is almost limitless.
  58. Armstrong, Karen. "The label of Catholic terror was never used about the IRA". The Guardian. 11 July 2005. "We rarely, if ever, called the IRA bombings 'Catholic' terrorism because we knew enough to realise that this was not essentially a religious campaign."
  59. Bruce, Steve (2014). . The Irish Association. Retrieved 8 December 2014. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  60. Claire Mitchell (2006). Religion, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 51. ISBN 0-7546-4155-4.
  61. . BBC News. 8 March 2001. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  62. . Public Intelligence. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2015. If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God then you are a religious Christian. Myself and many more like me do not necessarily have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God. We do however believe in Christianity as a cultural, social, identity and moral platform. This makes us Christian...You don't need to have a personal relationship with God or Jesus to fight for our Christian cultural heritage. It is enough that you are a Christian-agnostic or a Christian-atheist (an atheist who wants to preserve at least the basics of the European Christian cultural legacy (Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter)). {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  63. Schwirtz, Michael (14 August 2011). . New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2011. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  64. "Anders Breivik Manifesto: Shooter/Bomber Downplayed Religion, Secular Influence Key". International Business Times. (25 July 2011). Accessed 26 July 2011.
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  66. Thistlethwaite, Susan Brooks (25 July 2011). . Washington Post. Retrieved 17 August 2011. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  67. Washington, Jesse (31 July 2011). . Associated Press. Retrieved 3 October 2014. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  68. Sheppard, Robert (24 July 2011). . CBC News. Retrieved 17 August 2011. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  69. Juergensmeyer, Mark (24 July 2011). . Religious Dispatches Magazine. Retrieved 17 August 2011. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  70. Reynolds, John Mark (28 July 2011). . Washington Post. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  71. Hirschfield, Brad (29 July 2011). . Washington Post. Retrieved 17 August 2011. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  72. Xan Rice (20 October 2007). . London: The Guardian. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  73. ^ Marc Lacey (4 August 2002). . New York Times. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  74. The scars of death: children abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda By Human Rights Watch/Africa 1997 page 72
  75. ^ Ruddy Doom and Koen Vlassenroot (1999). "Kony's message: A new Koine? The Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda". African Affairs. 98 (390). Oxford Journals / Royal African Society: 5–36. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a008002.
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  77. K. Ward (2001). "The Armies of the Lord: Christianity, Rebels and the State in Northern Uganda, 1986–1999". Journal of Religion in Africa. 31 (2): 187. doi:10.1163/157006601X00121.
  78. . BBC News. Retrieved 2 January 2010. One of the differences on the LRA pips is a white bible inside a heart {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  79. David Blair (3 August 2005). . London: The Telegraph. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  80. Matthew Green (8 February 2008). . Financial Times. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  81. Christina Lamb (2 March 2008). . London: The Times. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  82. Marc Lacey (18 April 2005). . New York Times. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  83. Frederick Clarkson (2 December 2002). . National Organization for Women. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  84. Laurie Goodstein and Pierre Thomas (17 January 1995). . Washington Post. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  85. . CBS News. 9 November 2001. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  86. Bruce Hoffman (1998). Inside Terrorism. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11468-0.
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  88. . BBC News. 9 January 1999. Retrieved 2 January 2010. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  89. . Houston Belief. 9 February 1999. Retrieved 28 February 2010. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  90. Davey, Monica (28 January 2010). . New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2011. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  91. Leach, David. (PDF). Retrieved 27 October 2013. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  92. Cooperman, Alan (2 June 2003). . Washington Post. Retrieved 10 August 2011. 'Based on what we know of Rudolph so far, and admittedly it's fragmentary, there seems to be a fairly high likelihood that he can legitimately be called a Christian terrorist,' said Michael Barkun, a professor of political science at Syracuse University who has been a consultant to the FBI on Christian extremist groups. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  93. Al-Khattar, Aref M. (2003). . Westport, CT: Praeger. pp. 21, 30. ISBN 9780275969233. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
  94. Martin, Gus (2003). Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues. SAGE Publications, Inc. ISBN 978-0761926153.

Bibliography

  • Mason, Carol. 2002. Killing for Life: The Apocalyptic Narrative of Pro-Life Politics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
  • Zeskind, Leonard. 1987. The ‘Christian Identity’ Movement, . Atlanta, Georgia: Center for Democratic Renewal/Division of Church and Society, National Council of Churches.
  • Al-Khattar, Aref M. Religion and terrorism: an interfaith perspective. Greenwood. January 2003. ISBN 978-0-275-96923-3

Further reading

  • Rodney Stark God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades, HarperOne, 2010,
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