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The three fundamental components of culture of violence, conceit, attachment to ideology, and craving, are essentially self-centered attitudes. It is the nature of ego or self, either personal or collective, that demands everything to support its greatness. Identity, ideology or materials are therefore used by ego to serve its own interest.

Every established religion aims to reduce selfishness and free one’s mind from self-centered attitudes. It therefore goes against culture of violence. By cherishing love, tolerance, respect for humanity in everybody, and pointing the way for inner happiness, each religion is supportive to culture of peace. In fact, each religion regards peace for humanity as its ultimate objective.

Practicing the teaching of each religion can inspire goodness or new quality of mind, i.e. compassion, generosity, and sacrifice for the others. Religion is therefore a main force for reconciliation in society. It can help to reduce exploitation or oppression as evidenced in campaign against war, slave abolition, dictatorship, and campaign for civil rights of the coloured people during the past centuries.

However, undeniably, religion can instigate violence. Oftentimes, religion is to justify violence in different forms, including war for religious propagation and preservation. Historically, religion was frequently used to sanction violence to people who were not devout believers. Likewise, a lot of violence and war are waged in the name of religions.

As mentioned before, religion, as an identity, is used to reinforce self-centered attitude or superior conceit among the devout believers, while the nonbelievers are labeled as evil. Moreover, the extreme attachment to religion can contribute to strong conviction that holds anything is permissible for the glory of religion. In other word, deviated religious adherence could be a license to kill people of other faiths. This attitude is apparently shared by a lot of fundamentalists or extremists.

It should be noted that the extreme notion does not exist just among religious fundamentalists, but also the secularists including communists, neo-conservatives , or environmentalists. In numerous incidents, millions of people were killed by extreme secularists like Nazis, and communists. Some extreme environmentalists even declared recently that “everything is permitted”.

Religion is also used to support consumerism. A lot of religious teachings are misused to embrace the pursuit for prosperity and material accumulation. Turning to god or the sacred for fortune and wealth becomes a global phenomenon. Religious establishment becomes a spectacular showcase of material excess as religious leaders are bestowed with a luxurious life. It is not exaggerated to say that many religious establishments become the medium of consumerism that sanctions and intensifies craving and lead to more competition and exploitation.

In short, religion (or its interpretation) can be a source of culture of violence. This is the challenge for believers who wish to see religion as a beacon for culture of peace.