Ethnic nationalism and religious exclusivism

Against liberal and Marxist expectation, ethnic nationalism is increasing. Ethnicity as such is not necessarily bad and may meet human needs for recognition in an increasingly impersonal global society. However, the desire for separate and exclusive nationhood for ethnic groups such as we are seeing in Yugoslavia is divisive and damaging. The paper asks whether religion plays an important role in maximizing or minimizing ethnic exclusiveness. It notes that in fact religious and ethnic conflict are closely linked in many places. Durkheim's views that religion provides sacred ontological legitimation for the identity of a particular society seem to be true, at a small and ethnic level rather than at a larger multi‐ethnic level. We may therefore expect that religion will play a role in ethnic exclusivism in South Africa too. There are parallels between Eastern European countries and South Africa – the collapse of a previous ideology, the threatened failure to hold together a society of different ethnic groups, and the strong religious beliefs of ordinary people. Yugoslavia is a particularly shocking example of ethnic separation. The paper analyses the part played by religion in the Bosnian conflict. It suggests that there are parallels with South Africa. There are important differences in historical context, and it is unlikely that the ethnic conflict in South Africa will become as explicitly a religious conflict as in Yugoslavia. But concepts of exclusive salvation and religious rivalry in Yugoslavia are mirrored in many right‐wing groups in South Africa. These groups are therefore likely to be as non‐amenable to rational, political or economic considerations as the Serbs. Other ways, taking religious beliefs into account, need to be used to minimize the potential for violent ethnic exclusivity in South Africa.