ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the 'current state of affairs' of religion and armed conflict. It highlights why the relationship between religion and international relations is at present an issue fraught with difficulty and danger for scholars and practitioners alike, and why it – in fact – is preferably ignored rather than investigated. The chapter offers an overview of how religion is perceived on the contemporary international arena. It explores some contemporary issues concerning religion – such as threats, dangers, problems and possibilities – by way of laying the foundations for the subsequent investigation. The chapter explains the role of religion in armed conflict in the best way known to political scientists. It is today commonly believed that competition between religions is a source of hostility and hatred in the world. Religious terrorism is often inextricably linked to what has pejoratively come to be known as religious fundamentalism.
