My plan to end religious terror and violence and achieve lasting peace by MM

     
     Violence in religion has been happening since the beginning of time. In every religion whether Christianity, Judaism, Islamic, Hinduism, or Buddhism, there has been violent terrorists’ acts towards other religions, because these terrorists groups feel they are protecting their own religion, and that this is how God, or their deities, wants them to act. In Christianity the terrorists who attack the abortion clinics do this because they feel it is immoral, in Judaism the terrorists are fighting over ancient roots. Who does the state of Israel belong too? The Jews, or the Arabs, and in the Islamic terrorists groups, they hate the U.S. because of secular political and economic power. In Hinduism, the terrorists hate that India has become an independent state, and in Buddhism, with the terrorists of the Aum Shinrikyo movement, their violent acts were because they believed that Armageddon was beginning. Thus, all this violence leading to theaters of terror, and producing cosmic war within this world with martyrs and demons, and giving these terrorists a great sense of power.
     In our study through the mind of Mark Juergensmeyer he has shown us the root causes of comic war, how these violent terrorists groups respond in essence to their beliefs, and how we can possibly achieve some peace in this violent world. He has shown us that religion doesn’t cause the violent terrorists acts, but in turn religion has made the acts possible to achieve for these terrorists. “All terrorism is violent, and its violence may be performed for symbolic as well as strategic reasons.” (Juergensmeyer pg. 220) Through religion, terrorists have a great deal of power which is shown through performance violence, which in turn is justified through their morals and in the power of their government; thus leading to cosmic war. “Religion is blamed as the root cause of cosmic war,” (Essay III, 11/23, pg. 5) because most of these terrorists are fighting over God’s will, as they all translate God’s knowledge into their own interpretations. When one lives within these cultures of violence even though they don’t morally agree with the terrorist acts, they are glad that the acts happened because they feel they are being violated by their own government. What all these religious terrorists groups have in common is this, they don’t see the secular society boundaries around religion, thus allowing it to public places, they have rejected the laws with their own values and institutions, and they have went back to their religions beginnings with a more demanding and vibrant form of their religion. How do we end these acts of religious violence and have peace here on earth?
       In our text Mark Juergensmeyer gives us five possibilities in order to achieve peace, all of these scenarios seem helpful, but the one that I would pick in order to have lasting peace is the fourth scenario. “One of the reasons government is easily labeled the enemy of religion is that to some degree it is.” (Juergesmeyer pg. 228) You must have church and state separated in order to have peace on earth, in that religion shouldn’t have a spot in public life, and that way you would view social order as a secular nationalism in a natural law, thus being applicable universally. You must find the root causes of the terrorist acts and know how they essentially operate together, and know that cosmic war and symbolism play the role in motivating and justifying the violent terrorist acts because of political and secular authorities. “It addresses the identities and images which are at terrors roots the relationship between violence and religion.” (Week 12, 11/22, Burkey) Even though religious activists want to have religion at the heart of public matters, they first must learn that this can not be the case. “I think it must come from internal and external elements.” (Concluding week, 12/2, Burkey)
      In order to stop cosmic war the members of all the religions must be willing to moderate their religious views, and not have any negative symbolism in their society. In order for this kind of transformation to take place there are two things that each society must do, as a reasonable representation of cosmic war, everyone in the religious communities must understand their form of social struggle, and then the enemies have to accept this without being threatened by them. “Secular authorities can effect this criterion by resisting the temptation to act like an enemy in a cosmic war and being open to a social role for religion on a less violently confrontational level.” (Juergensmeyer pg. 242) Even though when one is attacked by an enemy it is very hard not to retaliate back, but in order for peace you must not because then you will have more terrorist acts, then in turn they don’t destroy all their targets, which makes you produce more cosmic war. This leads to a never ending cycle like the world we live in today. “Taking religious aspects out of politics would be helpful in a world like this.” (Concluding Week, 12/14, Burrell)  
     For this peace plan to work everyone in your society must have the education and knowledge for understanding how to keep religion and politics separate. We will have to start with the education process in order for our societies to know how to keep peace on this earth. Everyone must learn not to make their own religion issues the center of each political debate. “All wars eventually end, in long struggles especially; the pace of war sometimes changes: there are small victories, occasional breaks, tentative resolutions, and attempts to forge reconciliation.” (Juergensmeyer pg. 233) One must also learn to appreciate their religion within themselves providing a moral order and getting back to the Enlightenment values in your society. The violence will end in time, but will it end in my lifetime? There is only one man who knows the answer to that question, and hopefully I’ll still be here if that day ever happens; to see a peaceful and lovely lifetime on this earth.