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christian terrorism

General

Acts of Christian terrorism are terrorist acts carried out by self-professed Christian groups and individuals. Examples include the abortion clinic bombing by Eric Robert Rudolph, said to be a member of the extremist Christian Identity movement and murder of physicians who provide abortions, such as James Charles Kopp's shooting of Dr. Barnett Slepian.

Christian terrorism differs significantly from Islamic terrorism and other forms of religious terrorism both in organization and popular appeal within the respective religious communities. Political and economic differences between countries with large Christian populations and those with large Islamic populations may explain the different faces of religious terrorism worldwide.

As with most types of religious terrorism, mainstream believers typically consider acts by "Christian terrorists" to be egregious violations of Christian ethics. The violent Christian Identity movement, for instance, is regarded as a highly un-Christian organization by non-members. Modern Christian leaders regularly condemn all acts of terrorism, including those perpetuated by self-professed Christian terrorists. Critics observe that this is a marked change from the often-bloody history of Christianity, which is laden with violent Crusades, inquisitions, and witchhunts.

Past and present terrorism

Because the definition of terrorism is controversial, any list of acts of Christian terrorism will necessarily be controversial. Some point to the Crusades as the first example of large-scale Christian terrorist acts, while others argue that they were military campaigns. Although their official primary function was to (re)capture the "Holy Land" from various Muslim princes, it is generally recognized that they had several secondary functions including spreading Christianity, in a form of violent missionary policy. Some argue that because the conversion of "unbelievers" was an important motivator behind the Crusades, the Crusades were religiously motivated terrorism.

Today, groups that commit acts that can be called Christian terrorism are often not exclusively motivated by their beliefs about Christianity. Often, their activites are rooted in pre-existing mutual hatred, such as the case is with the conflict in Northern Ireland, which has roots traceable as far back as medieval England. While some of the Christian terrorist groups active today may be motivated by the prospect of converting subjects to join their faith, others have territorial/political motives for fighting. Still others have more in common with Nazi ideology than with religious ideology, and work primarily with racist ideals, such as white supremacy. The Christian Identity movement is an example.

Some critics of the 2003 Invasion in Iraq claim that the United States, as a demographically Christian nation, is engaged in acts of state terrorism with a Christian bent. Reports of violence against non-combattants (which are often hotly disputed) are sometimes cited as evidence of this claim.

In the United States, the most frequent examples of Christian terrorism include the bombing of abortion clinics and the murder of abortion providers by (ocasionally self-professed Christian) anti-abortion extremists.

List of self-professed Christian terrorist organizations

(Modified from Religious terrorism.)
- Christian Identity movement
- Ku Klux Klan (A racist Protestant Christian organization. )
- The Order (1980s-present)

Groups related to conflicts regarding Northern Ireland, which have both religious and nationalist elements, include:
- Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) (1986-present)
- Irish National Liberation Army
- Irish Republican Army (IRA) (1916-present)
- Loyalist Volunteer Force (disbanded)
- Orange Volunteers
- Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) (1969-present)
- Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA) (1997-present)
- Ulster Defence Association (UDA) (1971-present)
- Red Hand Defenders (1998-present)
- Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) (May 1966-present)

Other Christian-related terror groups with nationalist motivations include:
- Lord's Resistance Army (Christian/Pagan/Muslim) (1987-present) (Uganda)
- Nagaland Rebels (1948-present) (Nagaland)

History

Early times