According to the Psychology Association; extremists are seen as “highly dangerous because it often results into views that are detached from reality” the key point of this discussion is that religious extremists are dangerous to religious diversity due to the unrealistic fascination to seek power (Sinicki A, 2017) . In today’s world, religious extremists such as Christians, Islams, Buddhist see power in the name of religion, which means that individuals often use religion as an excuse for gaining power. The result of this is a misinterpretation of the values and morals of religion in order to benefit themselves and destroy diversity. In the Journal for the Scientific science of religion the author Wiley explains that groups are “likely to become less similar to other groups they know in order to presumably forge a clearly identity” (Tibesar A, 2010). This means that the religious group begins to differentiate themselves from other groups in order to build a stronger identity for their group. As a result, this creates an “us vs them” mentality( Sinicki A, 2017) which means a fight against groups with different values and morals. Hence, this concept dehumanizing the aspect of religion because members misinterpreted the religion in order to see greater power.
As mentioned above, religion is a social norm that governs both the social and personal behaviour of man by providing guidelines, laws and principles. In fact, religious institutions have adapted this force in order to maintain peace in society. According to writer Jeffrey Wattles, unity and equality can only be obtained if followers of different religions behave with respect, guidelines and principles (2014).This means that by showing respect and understanding religious diversity it becomes easier to achieve unity. Yet, the obstacle remains when a religion assumes it is superior to all others, so it challenges equality and unity due to the lack of respect. In order to achieve a balance of unity and equality religious institution need to promote respect and enhance understanding about one another.
In today’s society many religious leaders have tried to set an example of unity by enhancing their understanding of other religions. For instance, in a talk with Times Magazine The 14th Dalai Lama who is the leader of the Tibetan Buddhism, said “ We need constant effort to promote religious understanding, on the basis of mutual compassion and mutual respect” ( Maya Rhodan, 2017).
In the text, the Dalai Lama explains that as a society there needs to be persistent efforts of understanding human beings with compassion and respect. As well he emphasizes the word “mutual” which is an important to note, because in order to promote unity there needs to be an understanding of emotions from both points of view. The Dalai Lama is not the only leader that has tried to promote equality and unity, others like Pope Francis have spoken on the importance of enhancing unity in the religious communities. “Over the 21st century many religious leaders establish The World Council of Religious leaders in order to provide collective wisdom and resources of the faith to solve global critical problem” (The World Council, 2017) . In this Council religious leaders all work together to establish a unity between different groups and share knowledge that may help with the current issues that are happening around the world. The importance of this Council is that it promotes equality and unity within a global perspective. These leaders have different ideologies and morals, yet they’re able promote equality and unity-based dialogue and change.