Dionysus’ new “Asiatic” religion is a kind of elective monotheism. It scares Pentheus because it challenges everything that is moderate and traditionally Greek. The Maenads view themselves as the community, and Pentheus represents the “other,” or the non-believer. The Maenads are so possessed, so drunk with the power of Dionysus, that they are willing to commit atrocious acts of violence and sparagmos against non-believers, particularly Pentheus. Their violence is an example of excessive group passion for the religion. Only after Agave comes out of the possessed state of the group religion does she realize that she has just murdered her own son.
Euripides’ Bacchae represents a good example of violence in religion from a literary standpoint, but perhaps a more pressing and definitely more dangerous issue is that of violence in modern-day monotheistic religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, and particularly the fundamentalist sects of each. According to Karen Armstrong in The Battle for God, fundamentalism is “an embattled form of spirituality which has emerged in response to a perceived crisis” (Armstrong, 167). The term can also refer specifically to the belief that one's religious texts are “infallible and historically accurate, despite contradiction of these claims by modern scholarship” (Wikipedia).
Judaism consists of three main branches, Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform, and each have their own interpretations and beliefs. All Jews follow the Old Testament, or the Tanakh, and particularly the Torah. They believe that the Tanakh is not to be taken literally or alone, but needs to be used in conjunction with the Mishnah and the Talmud, which are core religious texts of oral law (Wikipedia). Jesus is either considered a false messiah, martyred rabbi, or not at all. Some Jews believe that prayer, repentance and obeying the law are necessary for salvation. Others believe that improvement of society will lead to salvation, and that there will be a physical resurrection after death, and the obedient and righteous will live forever with God. According to the Torah, violence is only acceptable in situations of self defense.
The fundamentalist sect, Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, is divided into two groups, the Haredim (religiously most extreme), and the Religious-National Jews (religiously more moderate) (Shahak, 1). The core belief of the Ultra-Orthodox is that they are the latest link in a religious continuity dating back to the giving of the Torah to Moses at Mt. Sinai. As a result, they feel that they are the only “true” Jews, and as a result are intolerant of other religions and other denominations of Judaism. Historically, the traditional Jews of Eastern Europe who fought against new movements that emerged in the Jewish community were the originators of the Ultra-Orthodox sect. This era is considered by Ultra-Orthodox Jews to be the most important time in Jewish history (Shahak,1). According to Deborah Weissman, “the extremist movement within contemporary Jewry often uses biblical quotations to justify a violent approach, but they are the only Jews who glorify violence…” She also goes on to explain that extremist Jews feel they have been historically victimized, and this can be good for a sense of national and ethnic unity among them, but also obscures their culpability for engaging in unjust group behavior (Weissman, 1). The most pressing issue of violence for the Jews is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the issue of suicide bombing, which is an issue of land as well as religion. However, there are many views, both Israeli and Palestinian, which should be taken into consideration when considering the reasons and history for the struggle. I do not, nor will I claim to know the definitive stance of the Jewish majority on this issue.
Christianity is the most widespread religion in the modern world, containing thousands of denominations, including Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. The main belief of all Christians is that they can be saved from damnation through faith in the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and redemption from their sins. There are other tenets widely accepted by the Christian faith, although there are various groups that differ in their beliefs about God, including the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Although many may be tolerant of other groups, individual denominations of Christianity usually see their own descent as a straight line from the earliest days of the Faith and all others as some sort of branch or deviation (Wikipedia). This is the privileged relationship between the community and God that makes Christianity an elective monotheistic religion.
The term “fundamentalist” has been used to describe the most religiously conservative group of Christians who adhere to the Five Fundamentals of Christianity and adhere to the Bible in a literal fashion (Robinson, 1). Fundamentalists believe that they are the only true Christians and other branches and other religions are false. Fundamentalist Christians, sometimes known as Evangelists or Pentecostals, are becoming well-known for participating in violent protest in the name of their pro-life stance on abortion. There have been several incidents that have resulted in the deaths of abortion clinic staff in recent years.
Violence has been omnipresent in the history of Christianity. In addition to the violent crucifixion of Jesus and the Crusades, Christianity traditionally represses religious plurality (Wikipedia). Paganism was condemned in 392 by Roman emperor Theodosius in 392, who then sentenced all non-Christians to death in 435. St. Augustine, who wrote the Heresies, developed theological support for this repression in his doctrine of Cognite intrare, in which he states, “The wounds of a friend are better than the kisses of an enemy. To love with sternness is better than to deceive with gentleness... In Luke 14:23 it is written: 'Compel people to come in!' By threats of the wrath of God, the Father draws souls to the Son.” (Wikipedia). Perhaps taking this passage literally, modern-day Christian Fundamentalists feel they have a duty to convert non-believers and save them from eternal damnation. Fundamentalist Christianity encompasses all the ingredients for violence within an elective monotheistic religion; they believe that they are the only “true Christians,” they view non-believers as the “other” and view violence as a tool for faith, and believe they are on a mission to resolve the historic struggle in the name of God.
Since the attacks of September 11, the religion of Islam has come under close scrutiny in the public eye. Islam is a monotheistic religion that arose in the 7th century based on the religious teachings of Mohammed in the Qur'an. Muslims believe that the prophet Mohammed received these teachings from Allah (God), via the angel Jibreel (about.com). Muslims recognize other religions as “People of the Book,” in other words, they recognize their existence, but hold that Islam is the only true religion (Wikipedia). By definition, the word Islam means “submission to the will of God,” and the word Muslim means “those who submit to the will of God” (Wuthnow, 398).
Muslims believe that Islam is the basic monotheistic faith proclaimed by prophets throughout history. The Qur'an is not seen as presenting a new revelation but rather as providing a complete, accurate, and final record of the message that had already been given to Abraham, Jesus, and other early prophets (Wuthnow, 384). The largest religious denominations within Islam are Shi’a and Sunni, with Sunni comprising about 80% of all Muslims (Wikipedia). To Muslims, there is a difference between “fundamentalist” Islam and “extremist” Islam (Kramer, 1). Many Muslims are devout practitioners of religion and consider themselves fundamentalists; however, they carefully distinguish themselves from extremists, who use Islam as political motivation. Wahhabism, a branch of the Sunni denomination, is considered to be the most traditional and extremist sect of Islam. The goal of the Wahhabis is to cleanse Islam of its “impurities,” and like other Fundamentalist sects, its adherents insist on strict interpretation of the Qur’an (Wikipedia). However, Wahhabism has been the focus of most of the controversy surrounding Islam, because it is the self-proclaimed denomination of Osama bin Laden, who has declared war against the West and “infidels,” or non-believers. This war is called “Jihad”, literally meaning “to struggle.” Jihad can also mean fighting with oneself to overcome egotistical desires (Godlas, 1). On the topic of violence, the Qur’an says, "Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loves not the transgressors" (2:190). In subsequent verses, Muslims are called upon to stop fighting when the opposing party ceases its aggression (About.com). There are, however, other passages in the Qur’an that could be interpreted in favor of violence against infidels.
Like Fundamentalist Jews and Christians, extremist Muslims believe that Islam is the one true religion. It is different from fundamental Judaism and Christianity in that it is not merely a religion, in the sense of a system of belief in God. It possesses an “immutable law (sharia law), revealed by God, that deals with every aspect of life, and it is an ideology, a complete system of belief about the organization of the state and the world” (Kramer, 2). It does not distinguish between the sacred and the secular (Nasr, 3). In the minds of Islamic extremists, the Islamic ideology must be pursued and realized at all costs, including the use of violence and force (Kramer, 2).
In the world today, each religion is facing its own problems. Islam is confronting the rise of militant extremism, and the world’s growing perception of Islam as a religion which condones violence (Frymer-Kensky, 1). Judaism is dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and near-constant suicide bombings. Christianity must deal with its violent past and the violent tendencies of its fundamentalist sects today. All three religions are confronting the issue of improving technology and military power in the modern political arena. The question remains then, how can violence become a sacred duty? I feel that the inherent structure of elective monotheist religions is key; the exclusive community and its relationship with God, the alienating of outsiders as the “other,” upon who acts of violence can be done without remorse. Second, the notion of group passion also contributes to the attraction of religion and violence. Individuals lose regard for moderation when they are in religious group situations, resulting in excess aggression. Third, the individual characteristics and nuances of each religion are merging with growing political instability in the political and technological world, with increasingly violent results. Fundamentalists may always be present in every religion, carrying on their fight against secular and religious modernization. The only thing we as humans can do to maintain relative peace in a world of pluralism is to remember that fundamentalists and extremists do not necessarily represent all the members of a religion or the religion itself, and we should respect those who hold different beliefs even if we don’t agree with them.
