Honour Violence Part II: Is religion to blame?

This is an important question because most of the communities in which honour crimes happen are also deeply religious (usually Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh). It is therefore natural to suggest a link.

The standard government response when religion is implicated in violent crime is to reassure us that it is not the religion itself that is to blame, but those who would misuse their religion to justify their nefarious behaviour. “Religion is noble, but its followers are not always that way” we are told. This position is understandable as governments do not want to create hostility towards vulnerable religious communities. For many however, this is simply a form of political correctness that is too scared to call evil by its name when bad religions, not just bad people, are a danger to society.

Though polar opposites, both views suggest the same thing, that the essence of a religion can be reduced to its purest form. For one group, “good religion is being abused by bad people,” for the other group, “the good adherents of bad religions manipulate their religion to make it good.” It is the same logic, i.e. that some religious people are digressing from the teaching of their religion; just opposite conclusions. In my opinion however, neither view point is able to answer the vital question of whether religion (or what religion) is to blame for honour crimes?

Religious experiences differ almost as much within a single religion as they do between different religions. This is because individuals and communities do not have a set of core principles, truths, or myths that can be understood universally from every point in history or geography. Differences in culture, politics, and textual interpretation can all inform the religious experiences of a person and community. It is therefore a mix of these forces that can subjugate women to second class status, and imposes upon them moral codes which, if breach, result in horrific consequences. This is why honour violence does not occur in all Muslim, Sikh, or all Hindu communities. There are always other vital links such as the region of their home country which a community has emigrated from, or the particular kind of religious traditions they subscribe to etc.

Whilst religion therefore is part of the cause of honour based violence, it can also be part of the solution. Many people have been empowered to oppose violent social orders, and oppressive religious traditions, precisely because their religion (or a variant of it) encourages them to do so. Politicians would do better encouraging religious communities to draw on the best that their religions have to offer, rather than simply dismissing the real dangers that can exist within any belief systems as deviations from the ‘true’ path.