Religious Violence: Fact or Fiction?

The main question of this article is this. Does religion itself play a role in “political violence”? After clarifying the meaning of relevant terms such as “religion”, “religious violence”, “secular violence”, “voluntary action” and “political violence”, I will examine two arguments that can be formulated in favour of the claim that religion itself is the unique cause of the so-called religious type of political violence, concluding that both of these arguments are subject to criticism and neither is successful in supporting that claim. Then I will suggest my own explanation of the real cause and origin of political violence in general and its proper solution. I will also conclude that the well-known distinction between religious and secular violence is not tenable.