Political Reform and religious violence in some Ethiopian Regions since 2018: Evidence from Sidama, Somali,and Oromia
Journal Article
Alene Agegnehu Waga a,*, Kelemu Zelalem BerhanuÂ
Aug 14, 2024
Social Science and Humanities
Political Science and International Relations
Abstract Preview:
In the post-1991 period, the Ethiopian Peopleâs Revolutionary Democratic Front clearly endorsed the separationof state and religion. More importantly, the government is obliged to deliver equal protection for the peacefulworshiping and well-being of religious institutions. However, there is little or no protection given to the Ethi-opian Orthodox Church and Christians, specifically in the post 2018 political transition. Therefore, this studyexamines the most devastating and selective murdering and slaughtering of Orthodox Christians and the de-molition of the church a few months after a new governmental transition took place in April 2018. To do so, thispaper applied the theory of âreligious victimizationâ to analyze the interplay between the so-called politicalreform and religious practice since 2018. In this respect, a qualitative research approach with a case researchdesign was used: ten in-depth interviews, three focus group discussions, field observations, and secondarysources analysis. According to the findings, thematic analysis was applied by arranging items in the team basedon their similarities. The results of the study also revealed that there were mass killings and demolition of or-thodox Christian properties in the Ethio-Somalia, Oromia, and Sidama regions of Ethiopia. Vandalism wassupposed to be systematic and well-planned. In this study, the researchers strongly recommend that the gov-ernment identify intervention strategies to stop the atrocities of Ethiopian Christians.
Keywords: Church burnings, Demolition properties, Ethiopian orthodox church, Political transition, Religious freedom, Mass killings
Full Abstract:
In the post-1991 period, the Ethiopian Peopleâs Revolutionary Democratic Front clearly endorsed the separationof state and religion. More importantly, the government is obliged to deliver equal protection for the peacefulworshiping and well-being of religious institutions. However, there is little or no protection given to the Ethi-opian Orthodox Church and Christians, specifically in the post 2018 political transition. Therefore, this studyexamines the most devastating and selective murdering and slaughtering of Orthodox Christians and the de-molition of the church a few months after a new governmental transition took place in April 2018. To do so, thispaper applied the theory of âreligious victimizationâ to analyze the interplay between the so-called politicalreform and religious practice since 2018. In this respect, a qualitative research approach with a case researchdesign was used: ten in-depth interviews, three focus group discussions, field observations, and secondarysources analysis. According to the findings, thematic analysis was applied by arranging items in the team basedon their similarities. The results of the study also revealed that there were mass killings and demolition of or-thodox Christian properties in the Ethio-Somalia, Oromia, and Sidama regions of Ethiopia. Vandalism wassupposed to be systematic and well-planned. In this study, the researchers strongly recommend that the gov-ernment identify intervention strategies to stop the atrocities of Ethiopian Christians.
Keywords: Church burnings, Demolition properties, Ethiopian orthodox church, Political transition, Religious freedom, Mass killings