RENDERING. Богатова С.М - 35 стр.

whether or not to kill an innocent person become no more than argu-           sense of unity – and led to conflicts that undermined the bonds holding
ments of advocacy based on hypothetical scenarios of the future.              the Empire together.
        Terrorists the world over have appropriated concepts and mili-                What is striking, comparing the decline of empires then and now,
tary strategies (consider the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and the fire       is the role of religion in creating that indispensable identity for the new
bombing of Dresden) that originated in the West. This fact should not,        states being formed. In the 16th century, people thought the coexis-
however, in any way debilitate us in our fight against terrorism. No gov-     tence of multiple religions in one country would undermine its sense of
ernment, no matter what its own past transgressions, should fail to pro-      community. As the French put it, «one king, one faith, one law.»
tect its own citizens. If anything positive can be said about this grim and           In addition, religion provided a vital theme for nation-building
ironic situation, it is that as victims of terrorism we may be forced to      around which people could unite to oppose foreign domination. Thus,
rethink our own policies on the use of force (including nuclear force) in     Dutch Protestants rebelled against the rule of Spanish Catholics. And
order to bring them into line with our moral denunciations of terrorism.      just a short distance to the west, Irish Catholics similarly resisted the
        (7456 символов)                                                       authority of English Protestants.
                                                                                      «In both societies, a religious cause enhanced – and was en-
            RELIGION AND THE MODERN WORLD STAGE                               hanced by, a sense of national identity,» observes Professor J. H. Elli-
                                                                              ott. «In both, the affiliation of national leaders to an international reli-
                            The 20th century may be remembered as the
                                                                              gious movement provided new opportunities for securing international
                    century in which empires collapsed. The British
                                                                              assistance.»
                    Empire, on which «the sun never set» 100 years
                                                                                      The potent force of religion in the decline of empires was ini-
                    ago, is now a faded memory. The Russian empire,
                                                                              tially less evident in the 20th century. To be sure, an Irish republic with
                    which only 20 years ago was a feared superpower
                                                                              a strong Catholic identity did gain independence in the early part of the
                    in its Soviet incarnation, imploded with stunning
                                                                              century. And in the late 1940s, when the British empire began to dis-
                    rapidity. The Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman em-
                                                                              solve, a Jewish state (Israel) and an Islamic state (Pakistan) emerged.
                    pires collapsed earlier, victims of the First World
                                                                                      Nevertheless, the strong identity of religion with national states
                    War.
                                                                              did not become apparent until the breakup of the Soviet (Russian) em-
                            In the ruins of these and the other empires, an
                                                                              pire. And in a fascinating fashion, the disintegration of Yugoslavia
abundance of new states has emerged. Some have historical roots and
                                                                              demonstrated religious identity with nationality, especially with regard
others do not. But they all do face one challenge – to find some ration-
                                                                              to international support.
ale for why they should be independent states.
                                                                                      How so? Well, just consider that it was Germany – the core of the
       As it turns out, this transition from empires to independent states
                                                                              earlier Holy Roman Empire – which urged early recognition of Catho-
has a disturbing precedent in Western history. Look back at the begin-
                                                                              lic Croatia. Meanwhile, Greece and Russia exhibited strong sympathies
ning of the 16th century. Back then, Western Europe was nominally
                                                                              for Orthodox Serbia – and the Islamic world supported Muslim Bosnia.
unified because of its allegiance to a single Catholic – or universal –
                                                                                      In the wars that resulted from this multi-layered conflict, the Ser-
church. And the Holy Roman Empire was a loose political expression
                                                                              bian-Bosnian cause was especially vicious, in large part because of the
of this unity.
                                                                              religious overtones. «Only God is with us,» exclaimed Radovan Ka-
       But this sense of unity began to unravel in the 1520s when Mar-
                                                                              radzic, now wanted by the Hague War Crimes Tribunal, «although we
tin Luther challenged church doctrines, thereby beginning the Protes-
                                                                              are defending Christianity against militant Muslim fundamentalism.»
tant Reformation. Already shaken by internal rivalries, the Empire’s
                                                                                      Indeed, Christian-Muslim warfare is another uncomfortable par-
fate was soon sealed. Religious differences undermined the previous
                                                                              allel between the present era and the 16th century. Back then, that cen-
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