Extremism Explained
Religious Studies: KS3, topic 3.3.2
Extremism Explained
Political extremism goes against democracy.
Democracy vs. Autocracy
- Political extremism is anti-democratic.
- Political extremists think their way of doing things is right and will use force if necessary to get their way.
Example of Autocracy
- One example of an autocrat was the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
- Stalin's political group came to power in Russia following a revolution.
- To stay in power, Stalin imposed a reign of terror.
- Stalin sent millions of people to harsh prison camps or murdered them.
- Stalin's policies led to tens of millions of people dying of starvation.
- Stalin never allowed the Russian people to choose between him and an alternative.
Extremism
- There can be extremists from both the left and right of politics.
- Extremism is best understood as imposing a way of life on people against their will using force and fear.
- In some ways, the same can be said for religious extremists.
Religious extremists
- Religious extremists believe their ideas are the true ones.
- Religious extremists believe everyone should live according to their beliefs even if they do not agree.
- Religious extremists are often prepared to use violence to try to impose their ideas.