Interculturality, Conflicts and Religion: Theoretical Perspectives

Interculturality reveals, in its tensions and relationship with religion, many aspects that need to be theorized. On the one hand, the studies on international relations analyse interreligious conflicts in the context of power conflicts and regional or international geopolitical imbalances. On the other hand, studies of interculturalism are centred on phenomena such as migrations, education, health and interethnic contexts. The author develops the hypothesis that current interreligious conflicts are, almost without exception, intercultural conflicts, and they must be approached as such. The analysis of the relationships between religion and culture reveals that religions can only exist and express themselves through local cultures. All definitions of religions have cultural connotations. Two cases of religion, conflicts and interculturality in South America provide a starting-point for a more theoretical reflection. In a global world in which cultural factors are increasingly important, the symbolic-relig...