ABSTRACT
Religion may lead to or enter into conflict and controversy in at least four ways: (1) Religion can come into conflict with itself when some of its members or leaders violate its own highest standards. (2) Controversy can also arise within communities of faith when different factions disagree sharply about what is right. (3) Religion can become a problem for individuals, or for society as a whole, when it leads to violence, terrorism, addiction, or other dysfunctional behaviors. Finally, (4) in the climate of pluralism and free religious expression that we enjoy in the United States, sometimes religious persons or groups express themselves in ways or in places that others deem inappropriate. This chapter illustrates each of these.
