Religious Extremism in a Global Context: Analyzing the Rise and Impact of Movements

Dear Colleagues,

Religious extremism is a key concern for many contemporary states, largely because of its ability to legitimate acts of violence via reference to sacred texts and teachings. Further, religious groups and movements help shape identities, belonging, and ideologies and challenge existing political ones. In both the developing and developed worlds, such groups often define the legitimate use of force and political discourse and influence national debates.

Liberal democracies tend to define themselves as above religious debate, focused more on secular, rational-economic concerns; hence, the impact of religious fundamentalism has been politically destabilizing and socially divisive in the West. However, non-Western societies often view Western secularization as equally destabilizing. This requires a far better understanding of the role and nature of religion in both its social and political roles.

Historically, the social sciences were consumed by the role and function of religion in society during their 19th century formation (as seen, for example, in the ideas of Durkheim and Weber), which also saw the emergence of the first appearance of modern revolutionary and terrorist movements. These notions need recalling, and Western definitions and assumptions require a re-appraisal, something which this Special Issue addresses.

The overt problems posed by armed religiously driven groups threatening the state’s monopoly over legitimate force (pace Weber) pose serious security risks for the state and citizens. Most responses therefore tend to emphasize security measures rather than prevention based on a thorough understanding of the causes; Durkheimian theorists emphasize a moral clash between modern secular values and religion’s sacred values which impels the ‘believer’ to respond violently to a profane threat. There are, of course, other perspectives that need to be considered, and there is a need to understand the problems at both the micro (social institutions) and macro (state and international relations) level. This call therefore seeks to elicit a wide-ranging and critical response, from across religious, literary, historical and social sciences and theoretical perspectives, that will help readers to understand the nature and extent of this threat (even those suggesting it is overstated). The aims are to bring new and original insights to understanging why religion is such an imperative force leading men to commit acts of supreme sacrifice, pacific, violent and non-violent, which the West currently often deems to be a major source of political instability internationally and a threat to Western security, whilst recognizing that many non-Western societies perceive the West as their threat.

We seek original and thought-provoking contributions that will aid both academics and practitioners in comprehending this problem and how to respond to it. We particularly welcome papers, both case studies and more theoretical analyses from around the world, that help understand why and how religion should have such mass appeal.

We request that prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor or to the Assistant Editor Katarina Maksimovic (katarina.maksimovic@mdpi.com) of Religions. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring their proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Marcello Mollica
Dr. James Dingley
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• religion
• violence
• fundamentalism
• security
• terrorism