It is with great sadness that we here at the Hedgehog Review hear of the death of René Girard. We were honored to call him a contributor to our pages. In memory of his life and work, we’ve brought a piece he wrote for us in 2004 out from our archives: “Violence and Religion: Cause or Effect?”:
The question of violence and religion arouses a great deal of justified interest today. It is a difficult and complex question. If we simply ask, “is this or that religion violent or peaceful?,” we do not take into account the fact that violence comes from us human beings. We all believe this regardless of whether or not we believe in God. The question of religious violence, therefore, is first and foremost a human question, a social and anthropological question, and not a directly religious question.
Read the rest of the piece here.