Religion and Nationalism

Published: May 19, 2017, 5 a.m.

Religious and national identities have helped people to build trust, cooperation, morality, and generosity--but have also led to conflicts between groups, many times in history. How have the religions that started with Jesus, Mohammed, and Buddha worked within or against national (or ethnic) identifications, especially in England, Bosnia, China, and the U.S.? In our increasingly networked, global cultures, can we transcend national conflicts by accepting the truth and goodness in various religious (and secular) ideals, despite the strength and violence of certain fundamentalist sects?