Research work · 2012
Us, Not Us: Religious Meaning, Existential Othering and Dimensions of Concordance and Contention
John D. Whyte, Emma Barrow
The International Journal of the Humanities Annual Review
Abstract
The significance of religious meanings on our lives is hard to overstate. Inextricably interweaving all aspects of our existence, they can provide an ideological matrix within which these aspects coexist and inter-relate. In doing so, they fundamentally define ourselves and those 'like us', and concomitantly 'others' who are 'not like us'. Unfortunately, history is littered with past and present examples of how this existential othering has resulted in conflict and contention-sometimes on massive scales. History is also littered with differing theorists' assertions for why such seemingly intractable and profoundly deep conflicts arise. Is it because of the nature of the religious tradition, itself? Is it more due to the interpretation/position of the adherent? Is it because of a more fundamental human quest pursuit for iconic immortality?