How does religion separate communities?
Sources:
Religion can separate communities in various ways, as detailed by different experts:
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Government and Community Dissolution: discusses how government intervention, particularly through welfare programs, can diminish the social structures that bind religious communities. By reducing the economic incentives to participate in such communities, and promoting subjective individualism, it fragments these groups, leading to a sense of isolation rather than liberation among individuals 1.
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Civic Fragmentation: highlights the issues arising from a lack of understanding and engagement with religious differences within communities. He notes that cities with active civic associations bridging religious gaps tend to be more peaceful compared to those that do not. The absence of such engagement fosters a fragile civic fabric prone to tension and conflict 2.
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Religion as a Unifier and Divider: and explore the dual role of religion as both a unifying and dividing factor. In the past, shared religious beliefs helped large groups cooperate, but differences in religion have also historically been a significant source of division, a situation exacerbated by modern factors like social media algorithms 3.
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Migrant Relocation and Religious Identity: speaks on how religion can become more central in the lives of migrants as they move to less familiar, often more secular environments. This shift can lead to the formation of tightly-knit religious communities that provide a sense of home and continuity, but also can separate these groups from the broader societal fabric 4.
These insights underline the complex relationship between religion, government policy, technology, and migration in shaping community cohesion and division.
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