The Revelation of the American Shooting Case: Religion should be a bridge for civilized communication

After the Orlando shooting, many citizens lit candles to mourn the victims

At 2 a.m. local time on the 12th, a shooting occurred at a "pulsation" nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which has killed 50 people and injured 53 people.This is the most serious terrorist attack in the United States since the September 11th incident in 2001, and it is also the most painful shooting in history that the United States has suffered, shocking the world.

The attacker Omar Martin is an Afghan American, born in New York, 29 years old, a professional security guard, qualified and trained with guns, and has had a marriage experience.What was the motive for Omar's attack?It seems to be related to homosexuality."Pulse" is a nightclub for gay people, and according to the attacker's father, Omar was very angry when he saw two men kissing in downtown Miami months ago.

Although both the public and the media have carefully avoided the relationship between the attack and religion, the attackers' religious background and religious ideas are still difficult to avoid.Omar was born in a Muslim family and was investigated twice by the FBI for his extreme remarks and interactions with terrorists.Before the attack, Omar called 911 to call the police and swear his allegiance to the Islamic State ( is）。 During the attack, he shouted anla-ahm-akbar（“ Allah is the Greatest”) and other Islamic vocabulary phrases.After the attack, the Islamic State also eagerly took responsibility.

Of course we cannot say that the Orlando attack was a religious incident, but this does not prevent us from making some analysis from the perspective of religious studies.Similar to some terrorist incidents that occurred in Europe, the attackers were all second generation Muslims born in the local area.Omar was born and raised in the United States. He was a genuine American in his identity, but his spiritual world could not be integrated into mainstream society, which led to the tragedy of large-scale massacres.

In the era of globalization, different beliefs, ethnic groups, and civilizations live together day and night, with different concepts and customs. For religious organizations, religious networks, religious media and religious people, what role should the religion they advocate play?

In religious teaching, there is a binding effect on religious belief ( bonding） and bridge ( bridging） Two interesting intentions.Bundling means that people come together because of their common religious beliefs, gather into a whole, strengthen their identity from it, and join in groups when interacting with the outside world;Bridge means that people’s religious beliefs are like a bridge, and they must play a communication role and establish friendly exchange relations with the outside world.For any religious organization, binding is conducive to internal unity and bridges the pipeline of harmony with society. Both complement each other and are indispensable.

As for today's global religious situation, it is increasingly important to play the role of religion in bridging between different beliefs, ethnic groups and civilizations.All relevant groups, including religious organizations, the Internet, the media, and scholars, should realize that it is not enough if each religion only emphasizes the rationality of its beliefs, spreads its beliefs, and is only keen on inspiring enthusiasm for its beliefs!Religions in today's world must not only adhere to their own beliefs, but also have the understanding, understanding and respect of other beliefs.Recognition of the diverse reality of human civilization and respect for the diversity of human behavior should become the basic content of every religious doctrine today.

The author can't help but think of the training class for young religious leaders in China organized by the Religious Studies major of Renmin University of China.This training system, which has been held for 10 years in a row, is called "History of World Religion", which introduces the evolution of human religions over the past 5,000 years, and explains the basic principles of religious teaching that Max Muller, the founder of religious teaching, said, "Only know one of them, but not one of them."Young leaders from Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Christianity gathered together for 4 months to build a religious academic atmosphere of respect, listening, understanding, discussion and sharing.So far, nearly 600 people have participated in this training and will become the mainstay of contemporary Chinese religion.Judging from the development trend of world religion and civilization, Renmin University’s religious training system has fully played the role of bridge and communication that religious knowledge should have in human civilization and reflects the future of human religious civilization.