@article{ref1,
title="Why the "sacred" is a better resource than "religion" for understanding terrorism",
journal="Terrorism and political violence",
year="2016",
author="Francis, Matthew D. M.",
volume="28",
number="5",
pages="912-927",
abstract="The popular media and many in academia often overstate the role that religion, and its supposedly unique qualities, has played in recent acts of terror. In this article, I argue that the notion of religious violence is unhelpful and that there is a more useful concept that we can utilize to draw out the values and ideas that play a role in the move to violence in both religious and secular groups. From a series of case studies on religious and non-religious groups, I have drawn out an alternative framework for investigating and learning from the role that beliefs play in motivations and justifications for terrorism. This framework uses the concept of non-negotiable (or &quot;sacred&quot;) beliefs. It is as applicable to secular as it is to religious groups, and can show us much more about how such beliefs can contribute to violence.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0954-6553",
doi="10.1080/09546553.2014.976625",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2014.976625"
}