Abstract
This study is concerned with one aspect of the otherwise broad and varied notion of terrorism: the so-called religious terrorism. The phenomenon of purposefully organised and ideologically justified terrorism is the product of the modern age and its systematic strategies.
The key factors in the development of terrorism were the formation of modern politics and the rise of modern ethnic nationalism. Terrorism in the nineteenth century was directed at the ruling classes.
In the twentieth century, one can perceive a distinct change in the strategies of terrorism. Since the second half of the twentieth century, the tendency to commit religiously motivated acts of terrorism has been increasing.
Religion offers not only motivation, but also justification and logistic support in a specific cultural context within the social and political changes in the global society. The essential notion of justification, often based on a historical precedent, is absolutely crucial in understanding the motivation for a particular act of terrorism.
One of the great threats of religious terrorism is "millenarianist terrorism". It can be observed that chiliasm has become an important source of political ideology that could be employed to justify the use of violence in the search for justice and for a better world.