On Christian violence

Miroslav Volf is frank about the history of religion and the thirst for power.

close

Summary

Miroslav Volf is frank about the history of religion and the thirst for power.

Transcript

Christianity has been, along with other religions, a force that has legitimised violence in many parts of the world and through many centuries. When we talk about violence and religion, I tend to remind myself and others that whatever causality toward violence on the part of Christian faith is there, it’s part also of a larger mix of political, economic, cultural, and other factors and they all bleed, so to speak, into one another. But it is definitely the case that Christian faith has had a history of legitimising and supporting violence. Especially when Christian faith – and that’s true of other religions as well – has tied itself too closely with either party, so to speak, in power, the state; or [an] ascendant and aspiring group toward power.