running takeaways and restaurants) in an otherwise undivided
community may be almost invisible. A similar sized group that owns
a large part of the land upon which the majority community lives and
farms (e.g. ‘European’ farmers formerly in Zimbabwe) may be
extremely visible and vulnerable to political pressure. Another factor
may be the degree of linguistic, cultural and religious differences
between groups – the greater the differences the less easy it may be
for the groups to communicate, integrate and negotiate.
Religious and linguistic differences serve to heighten aware-
ness of local loyalties and, indeed, lead to different perceptions of
national identity. Thus in Northern Ireland, Quebec and Kosovo,
some inhabitants (Protestants, English-speakers and Serb-speaking
Orthodox) may see themselves as inhabitants of a locality within a
currently constituted state (the United Kingdom, Canada or Serbia).
Others (Catholics, French-speakers, Albanian-speaking Muslims)
may feel loyalty to a different national identity – either to another
state (Ireland, Albania) or to the region as an independent entity
(Quebec, Kosovo).
It can be argued that many conflicts, which appear to be religious
in nature, have little to do with theological considerations. Thus
divisions between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland
appear to relate to a conflict between two social groups for economic
and political opportunities. The origins of struggle can be seen his-
torically in the British Crown allocating land to Protestant settlers
from the mainland. Current differences are much more about
nationality than theological concepts such as transubstantiation or
papal authority.
Similarly divisions between Palestinians and Israelis may be seen
as an Islamic/Jewish conflict, but more realistically may be seen as a
conflict between rival national groups for land and resources. In fact
many of the founders of Zionism were secular rather than Orthodox
Jews, and many ultra-Orthodox Jews refuse to serve in the Israeli
army. Similarly Palestinian Christians (a small minority) have
generally aligned themselves with their Muslim Arab compatriots.
Another striking example of the extent to which religion may
be a dependent variable in social and political conflict, is the trend
in modern India for political leaders of lower caste groups to urge
their followers to convert to Buddhism. This is not urged for theo-
logical reasons, but in order to escape their low prestige and influence
PROCESSES 109