Exploring Religious Conflict
Abstract
It has been said that the United States is "India governed by Sweden" ? that is, a religious country with a very secular tradition of government. Thus, it is perhaps little surprise that government, more than society, finds it awkward to address religious motivations, especially for violence. Yet September 11th drove home that the nation, and its intelligence, can no longer fail to address such issues directly. To that end, the RAND Corporation organized a board of religious experts. Those experts met with intelligence analysts in three carefully prepared day-long workshops. The goal was to provide analysts with background and frames of reference by assessing religious motivations in international politics, what may cause violence with religious roots and how states have sought to take advantage of or contain religious violence. This report summarizes and extends those workshops. The project was funded by the CIA's Directorate of Intelligence, but neither the task force's analyses nor the contents of this report are based on intelligence reporting. The report thus does not represent official views but, rather, those of the task force participants. In addition to analysts, it should be of interest to policy-makers and to interested citizens who find killing in the name of religion all but unfathomable.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA510463
Entities
People
- Charles W. Yost
- Daniel Gibran
- Gregory F. Treverton
- Heather S. Gregg
Organizations
- RAND Corporation