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Program it. Predict it. Prevent it.
An expert crew of computer scientists and religion scholars embark on a three-year project to apply computer simulation and
modeling to find solutions to worldwide humanitarian crises. Called to action by the Boston Marathon Bombing and increasing
religious extremist terrorist attacks in North America and Europe, the scientists develop cutting-edge technology at their headquarters in research centers in Boston and Virginia as well as at a Norwegian university. The team eventually travels to refugee
camps in Lesvos, Greece, to understand and simulate connections between religious extremism and the refugee crisis. They use the
powerful modeling and simulation methodology to develop policy recommendations for predicting and preventing religious
radicalization and violence.
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About
Radicalization, religiously rationalized violence, and refugee displacement are urgent large-scale crises in today’s world. Responses range from traditional military campaigns, grassroots activism to politicized gestures, but no one has been able to come up with anything beyond short-term band-aid solutions to what is a long-term problem. The Modeling Religion Project (MRP) team is taking a “think outside the box” approach. They have embarked upon the challenge of using the cutting-edge technology of computer simulation and modeling to test and validate scholarly theories from the scientific study of religion about what causes religious violence--which lead them to long-term concrete public. policy proposals that have the potential to prevent further tragedy stemming from religious extremist terror attacks.
This film captures the story of invention and personal purpose that goes into developing technology that can make the world a better, safer place. The MRP models shed light on the conditions that lead to religious violence and also illuminate the path by which massive human displacement is not only caused by religious sectarian violence but also how some asylum-seekers and second-generation youth become vulnerable to radicalization in their host countries. This story demonstrates how the powerful methodology of computer modeling and simulation can reveal solutions to some of the world’s most pressing global issues. It can shine a light on the lethal ignorance that blocks us from better understanding our collective complexity and towards demonstrating to policymakers how the computer model methodology offers a useful confrontation of complex global issues.
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Dr. Cristine H. Legare,
University of Texas at Austin
"It is hard to imagine a more opportune or consequential scientific endeavor than attempting to model the contexts associated with religious violence. This timely film showcases the earnest efforts of a team of social and computational scientists who seek to apply what we know about the psychological dynamics of group conflict to prevent future violence. Conducting translational science is a critical prerequisite to informing the design of more effective social policies."
Dr. Jesse Preston,
University of Warwick
"Simulating Religious Violence," is a thought-provoking documentary from director Jenn Lindsay, following Wesley Wildman's cutting-edge research predicting religious radicalization and violence with agent based computer models.. This fascinating look into religious violence shows a new means for understanding and predicting religious conflict and violence in the real world."
Robert N. McCauley,
Emory University
"Simulating Religious Violence documents how courageous religion scholars and computer modelers collaborate to construct insightful simulations of religious groups in order to discover their behavioral patterns and underlying causes. It skillfully captures how facing the stark realities behind social ostracism and religious violence transforms both the research and the researchers."
Michael Nielsen,
Georgia Southern University
"Simulating Religious Violence describes a nuanced and concerted effort by scholars to reach policy makers and others seeking to reduce religious violence. The researchers come from a variety of disciplines – religious studies, philosophy, psychology, sociology – but share a deep concern regarding the role religion plays in society. Their work illustrates the potential for scholarship to play a positive role in a vexing social problem. Using computer models based on actual events, combined with their decades of study of these issues, we learn that religion is not the source of violence. Instead, a complex set of factors such as poverty, hunger, forced migration, and identity, contribute to religious violence. This film enlightens us not only to the phenomenon of religious violence, but also to the way scholars can come together in an effort to improve the world."
​Dr. Richard Sosis,
University of Connecticut
"Simulating Religious Violence is a compelling documentary about a team of talented and ambitious psychologists, computer scientists, philosophers, and religious studies scholars who are trying to make a difference. Computer modelers aren’t typically cast in the role of superheroes, but the efforts of these researchers to make the world a safer place are surely heroic. And while they haven’t (yet) eliminated religious violence, like all admirable superheroes, these researchers give us hope."
Producer and Director
Post-Production Team
Lead Assistant Editor
Em Cegielski
Motion Graphics and Technical Consultant
Andrea Monzani
Sound Editor
Chase Horseman
Color Grading
Manuel Grieco
Composer
Xurxo Romaní
Animations
Danielle Roberts
Executive Producers
Wesley Wildman
Edoardo Varasi
Refugees Arrival Footage
Erik Kempson
Related Publications & Resources
Dissociated Landscapes
Jun - Sep 2023
"Religion is uniquely human, but computer simulations may help us understand religious behavior"
- The Conversation
"Can Artificial Intelligence Predict Religious Violence?"
- The Atlantic
"A New Approach for Fighting Religious Violence"
- Counterpoint: Navigating Knowledge