religion a source of conflict
Look at this from 2 angles - 1) yes it is - common sense dictates examples for this one - look at war, terrorism and political correctness 'gone mad' in relationto religion. Look back historically and for many conflicts religion has been cited as a cause. Similarly, religion can be used to cause social revolution. Martin Luther King Jrs work for equality and the earlier abolition of slavery both partially stemmed from the relgious ideas about equality and rights of mankind in religious teachings. So in this way religion is definitely a source of social instability and sometimes - most of the time is would seem - of conflict. In some countries (Latin America for example) religious organisations teach people literacy skills etc which lead to them questioning the status quo (I'm not saying this is wrong...just a source of instability). Even in supposed secular countries or western societies religion is a hotpoint of contention surrounding abortion, sex etc.Weber would also argue that it caused/contributed to the development and spread of capitalism and therefore Change (aka Instability, even if just for a moment).HOWEVER 2) Despite religion being the cause of many conflicts and wars on the face of things, a number of other reasons are likely to supercede these... resentment of Westernisation and globalisation, economic factors, greed, etc. Similarly religion can be quite a conservative force. It often teaches people to accept things and not to be violent - so conflict is out of the question and the idea of an afterlife rewarding good deeds Marxists argue, lead people to accept less than they should have and still be content. In short, it prevents a revolution. Itis "the opium of the masses" and 'ideological state apparatus". It keeps things the same.
