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Brittany J Stokes
Dr. Kelly
COMS 560
28 May 2017
Does Religion Fuel or Heal in Conflicts?
In chapter four of Forgiveness and Reconciliation Rayond Helmick discusses how
religion plays a role in conflict. Helmick reviews how religion can act as a motive for the parties
to come to a resolution or whether religion is responsible for fueling the conflict. Religion is a
part of every day routine and situations so when it comes to conflict religion also plays a part for
individuals who are spiritually grounded or affiliated with a religion. Helmick discusses how
some individuals abstain from implementing their feelings on religion during a conflict
depending on the situation of the conflict. When an individual does decide to incorporate their
own religious belief within a conflict to defend their point of view Helmick talks about how this
individual typically has the idea that their argument is more logical than the opponent.
Culture is constantly changing and religion has been a part of this culture change. The
way certain cultures view and practice religion comes from a direct result of the history of
religion. The stereotype on religious people dealing with conflict is not pleasurable for most
individuals. Helmick goes into detail with the history of religion and conflict and how they
relate to each other. In order to please the royal family in Ireland many of the citizens practice
religion. Helmick also discusses how in the 11th century there were wars, which were a direct
result of religious differences of individuals. Due to the religious wars many citizens felt that the
churches had not handled the conflict properly and therefore, put the churchgoers in danger.
Individuals who were already unbelievers became even more convinced that the way
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churchgoers handled conflict was not appropriate or successful. When reviewing the history of
religion Helmick discusses that the reasoning for many individuals becoming religious was to
gain an inner self worth and guidance. He then discusses how now individuals become religious
to distance themselves from a world full of sin and conducts that are deemed unacceptable.
I found the article on Forgiveness and Reconciliation very easy to follow and extremely
informative about how religion aids to fueling conflict or helping to heal conflict. Helmick gives
examples with different people and situations where conflict has helped to resolve conflict and
other instances where is fueled the conflict. Helmick could have focused a little more on
Constantine order and given examples of how the church operated directly with the state.
Helmick also discussed Islam and Christianity and the differences that occur within these two
religions. I would have liked to see more examples of how these two religions worked with the
state. I see religion as more of a healing tool when dealing with conflict because I have used
religious practices to help me resolve conflicts that appear in my time.
The article on How Does Religion Fuel or Heal in Conflicts directly relates to conflict
management because the church and churchgoers have to solve conflict. The history of religion
also has an effect on how individuals view religion as it relates to conflict management. Conflict
is a part of everyday life for every individual so it is important for us to learn how to
communicate and resolve conflicts effectively.
