Christian terrorism
Christian terrorism, a form of religious terrorism, refers to terrorist acts which are committed by groups or individuals who profess Christian motivations or goals. Christian terrorists justify their violent tactics through their interpretation of the Bible and Christianity, in accordance with their own objectives and worldview.
Christian terrorism can be committed against members of other Christian denominations, adherents of other religions, secular governments, groups, individuals or society as a whole. Christianity can also be cynically misused as a rhetorical device to achieve political or military goals by terrorists.
Christian terrorist groups include paramilitary organizations, cults, and loose groups of people that might come together in order to attempt to terrorize other groups. Some groups also encourage unaffiliated individuals to commit terrorist acts. The paramilitary groups are typically tied to ethnic and political goals as well as religious goals and many of these groups have religious beliefs which are at odds with the religious beliefs of conventional Christianity.
Terminology
The literal use of the phrase Christian terrorism is disputed. It appears in the academic literature to describe a large range of actions and beliefs.Religion can be cited as the motivation for terrorism in conflicts that have a variety of ethnic, economic and political causes, such as the one in Bosnia. In cases such as the Lord's Resistance Army or the Taiping Rebellion the beliefs of the founders differ significantly from what is recognizably Christian. In such cases the term Christian terrorism is problematic despite the claim that they are motivated by their religious beliefs.
The intimidation of minority communities along with sporadic acts of violence do not typically get referred to as terrorism. However, in 2015 a majority of Americans from the Democratic and Republican political parties thought that "attacks on abortion providers be considered domestic terrorism".
History
Christianity came to prominence in the Roman Empire during and directly after the rule of Constantine the Great. By this time, it had spread throughout western Asia as a minority belief, and it had become the state religion of Armenia. In early Christianity, there were many rival sects, which were collectively persecuted by some rulers. There is, however, generally no record of these early Christian groups attempting to use acts of terrorism or indiscriminate acts of violence as religious weapons, though the Donatists fought a guerilla war against the mainstream church and the state, blinding Catholic priests to make their point.Gaining state backing by a particular Christian sect or creed led to an increase in religious violence. This violence took the form of persecution of adherents of rival Christian beliefs and persecution of adherents of other religions. In Europe during the Middle Ages, Christian antisemitism increased, and both the Reformation and Counter-Reformation led to an increase in interdenominational violence. As with modern examples, it is debated as to what extent these acts were religious as opposed to ethnic or political in nature.
Gunpowder Plot
The early modern period in Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation and the recusancy that emerged in opposition to it. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a failed attempt by a group of English Catholics to assassinate the Protestant King James I, and to blow up the Palace of Westminster, the English seat of government. Although the modern concept of religious terrorism, or indeed terrorism at all, had not yet come into use in the seventeenth century, David C. Rapoport and Lindsay Clutterbuck point out that the Plot, with its use of explosives, was an early precursor of nineteenth century anarchist terrorism. Sue Mahan and Pamala L. Griset classify the plot as an act of religious terrorism, writing that "Fawkes and his colleagues justified their actions in terms of religion." Peter Steinfels also characterizes this plot as a notable case of religious terrorism.Pogroms
-influenced movements in Romania, such as the Iron Guard and Lăncieri, which have been characterized by Yad Vashem and Stanley G. Payne as antisemitic and fascist, respectively, were involved in the Bucharest pogrom and committed numerous politically motivated murders during the 1930s.Ku Klux Klan
In the late 1860s during the Reconstruction era, former Confederate soldiers founded the original Ku Klux Klan organization in the Southern United States. Religion did not play a role in the first Klan and it disappeared in the 1870s. However in the 1920s a new Protestant-led iteration, the second Klan, was formed during a period when racism, xenophobia, nativism, and anti-Catholicism were all widespread. This second Klan vastly expanded its geographical reach and its list of targets over those of the first Klan.File:theendkkk.jpg|thumb|Rev. Branford Clarke's illustration in the 1926 book Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty portrays the Klan as slaying Catholic influence in the US.
Vehemently anti-Catholic, the second Klan espoused an explicitly Protestant terrorist ideology, partially basing its beliefs on a "religious foundation" in Protestantism and targeting chiefly Catholics, as well as people who engaged in "immoral" practices such as adulterers, bad debtors, gamblers, and alcohol abusers. From an early time onward, the goals of the second KKK included an intent to reestablish Protestant values in America by any means possible in opposition to the growing threat from Jews and Catholics. Although members swore to uphold Christian morality, virtually every Christian denomination officially denounced the KKK. The Second Klan lost membership rapidly after prominent leaders were identified with major crimes. There were small remnants in the 1930s and 1940s.
In the 1920s a new practice characterized the Klansmen: nigh-time cross burnings. Cross burning had never been a religious practice. The ritual of lighting crosses included singing "Onward Christian Soldiers."
Since the 1950s small local Klans have practiced domestic terrorism in the United States, but they have dropped the cross burnings and are not associated with any religion.
Start of modern terrorism
, a former president of the American Academy of Religion, has argued that there has been a global rise in religious nationalism after the Cold War due to the post-colonial collapse of confidence in Western models of nationalism and the rise of globalization. Juergensmeyer categorizes contemporary Christian terrorists as being a part of "religious activists from Algeria to Idaho, who have come to hate secular governments with an almost transcendent passion and dream of revolutionary changes that will establish a godly social order in the rubble of what the citizens of most secular societies regard as modern, egalitarian democracies".According to terrorism expert David C. Rapoport, a "religious wave", or a cycle, of terrorism, dates from approximately 1979 to the present. According to Rapoport, this wave most prominently features Islamic terrorism, but it also includes terrorism by Christians and other religious groups that may have been influenced by Islamic terrorism.
Christchurch mosque shootings
On 15 March 2019, two consecutive terrorist mass shootings took place in Christchurch, New Zealand. They were committed during Friday prayer, first at the Al Noor Mosque in Riccarton, at 1:40 p.m. and almost immediately afterwards at the Linwood Islamic Centre at 1:52 p.m. Altogether, 51 people were killed and 89 others were injured, including 40 by gunfire. The perpetrator was an Australian man, Brenton Tarrant, then aged 28.Tarrant's actions were driven by his beliefs in Christian nationalism. This perspective often includes anti-immigrant sentiments, and support for an ethno-religious homeland. In his manifesto and online posts, Tarrant described Australia and New Zealand as historically Christian lands and presented himself as defending Christian heritage against what he called a Muslim “invasion.” He referenced Crusader history, used phrases like “deus vult,” and framed the attack as protecting a Christian European civilization.
Reason for claiming a Christian motivation
Numerous individuals and groups have cited their Christianity or Christian beliefs as the motivation for their terrorist acts. This can mean that they see Christianity as their identity and the main reason for their existence, partially in contrast to the identities and existence of other groups which they consider threatening and non-Christian. Terrorists can also cite their interpretation of the Bible or Christian beliefs as their motivation. All types of terrorism have a complex interrelationship with psychology and mental health; however, only a minority of terrorists have diagnosable medical illnesses. Christianity can also be claimed as a motive to inspire followers or curry political favor or protection. All these motivations are not independent and often complexly interwoven.Christianity as an identity
Religion is often closely tied to ethnic identity, economic standing and self image. Should a group of Christians feel threatened, religion is a verifiable, culturally important label to use in creating a "them-and-us" mentality. This is particularly the case where both groups share membership in a broadly similar cultural group, for example the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. In situations where the opposing ethnicities are more diverse, different skin colors and/or cultural practices are sometimes used as identifiers of the other. In these cases terrorists may call themselves Christians, but they may not be motivated by any particular interpretation of Christian beliefs. In such cases Christianity is a label which reflects cultural, rather than directly ideological, influences.This cultural Christian identity is often reinforced in the mind of the terrorist by media and governmental sources that vilify the other group or amplify its threat. This politicizing of ethno-religious tensions is a key contributor to the violence in the Central African Republic. The targets of this kind of terrorist motivation include other religions or denominations, but they can also include those who the perpetrator believes are threatening to him or her in any way, such as LGBT people or members of any group which does not conform to the perpetrator's view of who they are. For example, Slovenian Catholic terrorist group the Black Hand assassinated hundreds of suspected communists, justifying it as "defense of the faith".
When the opposing group is also Christian but belongs to a different denomination, it is often denounced as non-Christian or anti-Christian. For example, the leader of the Orange Volunteers, who described themselves as Protestant fundamentalists, defended their attacks on Catholic churches on the basis that they were "bastions of the Antichrist".