Doug Hynd has lectured in Christian ethics at Charles Sturt University and is now in the final stages of a PhD at the Australian Catholic University. In this short piece written just after the Martin Place (Lindt) siege, he considers the connections between religion and violence.
The Martin Place event conjured up speculation about the alleged links between Islam and violence and these issues are in the background again today as the Martin Place inquest proceeds and acts of terror occur overseas. Hynd lists a number of references that deal with the religion-violence link, noting in conclusion how the secular has become sacred in the ‘civil religion’ of Anzac.
19 July 2016