Religion and secular nationalism sustain violence only when mutually reinforcing, not inherently.

Evidence

The case of Northern Ireland in general, and Belfast in particular, suggests that the two perspectives outlined at the beginning of this chapter are inadequate. First, the tendency to ignore religion as a factor in contemporary Northern Ireland is misplaced. This tendency is rooted in an excessively narrow definition of religion and nationalist politics that understands both solely in terms of formal relationships between religious institutions and the national state. Our research undermines the proposition that religious division per se is intrinsically violent and intractable. But when convergent and mutually supportive, religion and secular nationalism can sustain enduring violence and division. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 2303

Categorization

• XREF: Links to the MOC’s core claim that enemy-making is a mechanism — the internal-enemy/‘Other-division’ machinery in a nominally Christian sectarian case rather than a Muslim-Other case; relevant because the chapter’s own conclusion rejects the intrinsic-violence thesis. — connects to: Vernacular religion, not institutional belief, drives post-conflict sectarian division. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 2302; A tolerant religion’s peaceful values do not prevent nationalist militarism by its adherents — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 35; A religion’s violence depends on context, not inherent character (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• A religion’s violence depends on context, not inherent character #corroborates (1.00)
• Religious violence shifts historically within traditions, so no religion is inherently violent #corroborates (1.00) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 515
• A tolerant religion’s peaceful values do not prevent nationalist militarism by its adherents #corroborates (0.92) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 35
• Religion factors into most wars but rarely causes them #corroborates (0.90) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 512
• Sinhalese nationalist violence against Christians is opportunistic rather than primordial #exemplifies (0.88) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 245
• The equation of institutional religion with violence and fanaticism will not do #corroborates (0.85)
• Religion fuses with nationalism only when it legitimizes actual state governance #expands (0.85) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 75
• Nationalism’s borrowings from religion do not make religion its source #corroborates (0.80) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 946