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The Army of God – an Examination of Religiously Motivated Violence from a Psycholo- Gy of Religion Perspective

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The Army of God – an Examination of Religiously Motivated Violence from a Psycholo- Gy of Religion Perspective UPPSALA University Department of theology Psychology of Religion, Master thesis, 30 ECTS-credits Autumn semester, 2016 Supervisors: Valerie DeMarinis Examiner: MariAnne Ekedahl The Army of God – An examination of religiously motivated violence from a psycholo- gy of religion perspective. Sacharias Wirén 870612 [email protected] Abstract The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine psychological processes that can contribute to religiously motivated violence from a psychology of religion perspective in relation to the collective meaning-system of the Christian militant anti-abortion movement the Army of God. The study applied a single-case design and the data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 3 prominent figures within Army of God, as well as through 43 qualitative documents and 4 autobiographical books. The collected data was analyzed through a deductive ap- proach, implementing the concept of sanctification, social identity theory, selec- tive moral disengagement, and the Staircase to Terrorism model. The results show that the collective meaning-system of the Army of God can be understood as a form of religious fundamentalism that acts as a frame that binds the members to- gether, and from which social categorization and group identification can induce acts of violence. The results also demonstrate that abortion is perceived as a grave injustice and destruction of something sacred, and how it leads to a moral outrage and aggression by constituting a threat towards one’s social identity. This threat moves the individuals towards a ‘black-and-white’ and ‘the ends justify the means’ mentality. The act of violence is further prompted by a perceived duty from God and facilitated by a dehumanization of the perceived enemy. The find- ings of the study address the need of primary empirical data in the psychological research of violent extremism. Furthermore, it brings further knowledge regarding religiously motivated violence and leaderless resistance by taking into account the search for significance and sacred values. In contrast to previous research the cur- rent study also demonstrates that a leader or a well-structured group is not neces- sarily a key factor when explaining religiously motivated violence from a social psychological perspective. This can contribute to the theoretical understanding regarding social identity and a collective meaning-making in relation to violent extremism and lone-wolf terrorism. Key words: religiously motivated violence, social identity, sacred values, meaning-system, anti-abortion, religious fundamentalism, selective moral disengagement, staircase to terrorism Table of contents Chapter 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Purpose and goal ...................................................................................................... 2 1.2. Research question ..................................................................................................... 2 1.3. Demarcation ............................................................................................................. 3 1.4. Definition of terms ................................................................................................... 3 1.5. Cultural description .................................................................................................. 6 1.6. The Army of God ..................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 2 Research review and Theory ............................................................................... 8 2.1. Research review ....................................................................................................... 8 2.1.1. Religious terrorism and violence ...................................................................... 9 2.1.2. The Army of God and terrorism/violence ...................................................... 13 2.1.3. Conclusions of previous research ................................................................... 16 2.2. Presentation of Theory ........................................................................................... 17 2.2.1. Religion and the sacred ................................................................................... 17 2.2.2. Sanctification .................................................................................................. 18 2.2.3. Religious fundamentalism .............................................................................. 19 2.2.4. Social Identity Theory .................................................................................... 20 2.2.5. Selective Moral Disengagement ..................................................................... 23 2.2.6. The Staircase to Terrorism ............................................................................. 25 2.3. Working-model ...................................................................................................... 27 2.3.1. Propositions .................................................................................................... 31 Chapter 3 Method and Material ......................................................................................... 32 3.1. Method ................................................................................................................... 32 3.1.1. Worldview ...................................................................................................... 32 3.1.2. Research design .............................................................................................. 33 3.1.3. Research method ............................................................................................. 34 3.1.3.1. Selection of participants .......................................................................... 34 3.1.3.2. Themes for the interviews ....................................................................... 35 3.1.3.3. Selection of documents ........................................................................... 35 3.1.3.4. Analytic questions ................................................................................... 35 3.1.3.5. Data analysis procedure .......................................................................... 36 3.1.4. Validity and Reliability .................................................................................. 36 3.1.4.1. Validity ................................................................................................... 36 3.1.4.2. Reliability ................................................................................................ 37 3.2. Ethical issues in research ........................................................................................ 37 3.1. Material .................................................................................................................. 38 Chapter 4 Results ............................................................................................................... 40 4.1. Presentation of the interviews ................................................................................ 40 4.1.1 Religious fundamentalism ............................................................................... 40 4.1.1.1. Reactivity ................................................................................................ 41 4.1.1.2. Selectivity ............................................................................................... 42 4.1.1.3. Dualistic thinking .................................................................................... 43 4.1.1.4. Absolutism .............................................................................................. 43 4.1.2. Ground floor ................................................................................................... 44 4.1.3. First floor ........................................................................................................ 45 4.1.4. Second floor .................................................................................................... 46 4.1.5. Third floor ....................................................................................................... 46 4.1.6. Fourth floor ..................................................................................................... 49 4.1.7. Fifth floor ........................................................................................................ 50 4.1.8. Conclusions of the interviews ......................................................................... 51 4.2. Presentation of the texts ......................................................................................... 51 4.2.1 Religious fundamentalism ............................................................................... 53 4.2.1.1. Reactivity ................................................................................................ 53 4.2.1.2. Selectivity ............................................................................................... 54 4.2.1.3. Dualistic thinking .................................................................................... 55 4.2.1.4. Absolutism .............................................................................................. 56 4.2.2. Ground floor ..................................................................................................
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