NCJ Number
220527
Journal
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism Volume: 30 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2007 Pages: 963-983
Date Published
November 2007
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article examines three cases of nonstate armed actors who are committed to creating new local societies based in their Christian beliefs: the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NFLT), the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda, and the Ambonese Christian militias.
Abstract
From these three cases, several factors and trends are apparent. First, various forms of Christianity are instrumental in filling the sociocultural vacuum left by the social changes that are occurring in local societies. Religion thus provides a ready-made value and belief system for controlling change and providing a core foundation for an emerging new society. In the three cases, the processes of social change were caused by different factors, such as migration and land seizures (most prevalent in Tripura and to a lesser degree in Ambon), the loss of socioeconomic status inherited from colonial times, and subsequent marginalization and exclusion to the advantage of dominant out-groups. Although the process of "christianization" of social change and references to religion do not necessarily lead to radical religious behavior, the three case studies show that the potential for radicalization is higher in situations where socioeconomic differences are also translated into religious terms, which intensifies conflict. Second, the cases also show how Christianity serves other strategic functions, such as providing a basis for communal cohesion while distinguishing one's identifying beliefs and values from other groups competing for socioeconomic control. Third, religious radicalization has been fueled by "trigger" events that have widened existing rifts among groups. Fourth, there are indications that outside influence and manipulation have ideologically as well as logistically facilitated the rise of religious radicalism. 69 notes