Comparative Political Science - Essay Example

Comparative Political Science Despite the fact that many people believe that religion and political violence are strongly related, religion does not always cause political violence. A lot of occurrences of political violence, loss of lives and unrest that have nothing to do with religion have been witnessed in many places. These happenings are usually as a result of political differences that arise from other factors apart from religion such as ethnic, cultural and racial differences. For example, the 2007 post election violence that was witnessed in Kenya had nothing to do with religion, but everything to do with ethnicity and tribal differences.

In essence, the political violence experienced was as a result of different ethnic groups seeking political superiority (O’Neil 2). In some instances, political violence may take place when people protest against poor leadership by their governments or even when governments fail to take action where necessary. With this in mind, religion and political violence are not entirely related because religion does not necessarily cause political violence. It is incorrect to conclude that religious homogeneity can guarantee sectarian peace.

In fact, religious homogeneity cannot guarantee sectarian peace. Religious homogeneity has to do with sameness in all religious beliefs, opinions, doctrines and thoughts. If there is sameness in all aspects of religion, the likelihood of sectarianism and other religious differences is greatly reduced. Even if everyone was to belong to one particular religion, there would still be sectarianism because they would still have other differences such as race, ethnicity and culture to fight about. For this reason, it would still be difficult to attain sectarian peace (O’Neil 78).

Sectarian conflict does not always occur as a result of religious diversity. The differences in beliefs and opinions among religions can be used to explain religious diversity. Different religions might have different beliefs and ideals, but that does not always lead to sectarian conflict. The hatred and discrimination that arises from the different beliefs among religions is what can be called sectarianism. Religious diversity does not always mean sectarian conflict because different religions have learnt to tolerate each other and get along for the overall good.

A good example is America, which has diverse religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Baha’i, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and Taoism among others (O’Neil 99). Despite the fact that each of these religions has its own unique beliefs, these differences do not cause them to fight against one another. Sectarianism can occur as a result of other things such as race or class, but not religion. Religion and political violence are not related. The 2007 post election violence that took place in Kenya as a result of political differences between the two major contenders is a good example that has been cited in this paper.

The violence had nothing to do with religion but they led to as loss of lives, displacements, unrest and injuries. Religious diversity does not always to lead to sectarianism as long as religions tolerate, respect and understand each other. It is correct to conclude that sectarian peace cannot be achieved through religious homogeneity because religious differences are not the only causes of sectarian conflict. Works Cited Patrick O’Neil Cases in Comparative Politics. 4th ed. Norton. Print. Patrick O’Neil.

Essentials of Comparative Politics. 4th ed. Norton. Print.