I want us to resist absolutist or binary claims about religion (ie: “Religion is violent!” “Religion caused all the major wars in the world!”) that release other agents of power from their accountability in the world’s problems.

These important distinctions about religion offer a real challenge to how we see other cultures and their traditions. If we’re only seeing them through our eyes, rather than challenging our gaze, how can they ever trust us to see them for who they are? How does this imposition of “religion” onto other cultures contribute to broader... See more

Religion is just one of many categories of power that can inform violence in the world—be it structural, cultural, or direct. When we understand these kinds of violence as interrelated, we can better work towards dismantling it and creating peace.