Religion and Shared Humanity

Abstract

Abstract

This article critically reassesses the enduring association between religion and violence in contemporary religious studies. It argues that dominant interpretations often rely on reductionist assumptions that overlook the historical, social, and interpretive complexity of both religion and violence. Employing a critical hermeneutic approach informed by intellectual history and comparative religious studies, the article examines influential critiques advanced by Enlightenment thinkers, Feuerbach, Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche, alongside alternative perspectives developed by Eliade, Caillois, Fromm, and contemporary scholars. It proposes the Shared Humanity Framework as a non-reductionist model for reinterpreting the violence question. The article argues that violence is not an intrinsic characteristic of religion but emerges through specific historical, ideological, and interpretive configurations. By shifting attention from essentialist explanations to shared humanity, the article offers a more balanced understanding of religion as a source of meaning, dialogue, recognition, solidarity, and peacebuilding, thereby contributing to contemporary debates on religion in pluralistic societies.