Religious Persecution Definition

Persecution in the name of religion has occurred throughout history and continues around the globe. Expressions of persecution may be subtle and individual, such as the teasing of an Islamic child for wearing a head covering, to acute and global, such as terrorist attacks and war. The study of religious persecution is more than the study of an interesting phenomenon: It is the study of a violation of human rights. Sociologists can add to the understanding of religious persecution and aid in its reduction or elimination by helping to develop better definitions of religious persecution, investigating and articulating its antecedents, and by devising ways to neutralize religious persecution in an effort to promote world-wide human rights.
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For example, sometimes religious persecution is directed toward a religious group not particularly because of its religion, but because of its ethnicity. An example of religious persecution being performed in the furtherance of xenophobia can be seen in the Holocaust and the systematic attempt at eradicating the Jews, Gypsies, and other groups considered undesirable by Hitler and many of the Nazis. In addition, persecution of religious groups can occur when the religion is seen as competition for a political system. The persecution of Christians in the former Soviet Union is one example of this kind of religious persecution. Other examples include the persecution of the Falun Gong sect in China and the persecution of Christians and Muslims in MyanmAlthough from a scientific perspective it could be said that the study of religious persecution is of interest in its own right, the goal of such study should be not to gain understanding, but more importantly to gain understanding in order to prevent further religious persecution. The study of religious persecution is more than the study of an interesting phenomenon: It is the study of a violation of human rights. In an example of this, Martin discussed the nature of the world 's three monotheistic religions in a high-level investigation of the phenomena of religious persecution and human rights (2005). Although, perhaps, to some extent it may be understandable that a religious persecution arises between groups whose belief systems are vastly different and mutually exclusive, religious persecution historically has arisen between the three major religions for as long as they have been in