Why do religious people start all the wars?

Question

There is after all a commandment that says "Thou shalt not kill.". Jesus himself said to turn the other cheek.

Answer 1

So. People don't start wars because of relgion. They start them because they're pissed and use religion as an excuse (sad, I know)

Answer 2

The three big offenders of this are Judiasm, Christianity, and Islam. All three of these religions have, in their holy texts, instructions to convert non-believers and kill everyone else. Most people today don't live their lives by these statements, instead trying to be good people and not bring harm to others, etc, but when you are brought up to believe things a certain way, it's easier to stay in that belief than to change. Changing feels like you're going against your very nature, add to that individuals who fan the flames for their own benefit, and eventually you get a holy war.

Answer 3

The believe their way is the one and only right way, and they demonize the "other", such that those people aren't even human any more... or if they are human, they aren't God's children, they are on the side of the demons... they can't help it but they are in his control. This makes it easier for them to justify killing other people because they don't view the other people as good people like themselves, they see them as warriors for satan or whatever... people who are lost anyway.

It's all crazy though, these people need to stop being concerned with others, but they'll never be able to see people who have other views than they do as anything other than a direct threat to their way of life. They feel like they are protecting their way, their religion, their people from the evil things in the world. The war going on with the Muslims right now is them thinking that the western ways or the "evil Zionist Israel" is trying to take over the world and so they think they need to kill all of these "evil" people. Similarly, a lot of Christians even in our own country believe the "evil" Jews or "satanist" liberals are trying to take over America... and so they go burn crosses on people's lawns.

All of these extremists are crazy and they are largely ignorant to the world at large and of human history throughout time, because if they knew about history they'd learn from it, and they'd learn that hanging onto extremist views and trying to impose those views on the rest usually loses to freedom and democracy.

Answer 4

Most wars are fought over religion with politics being a close second. Most have been Christianity or Muslim caused and Fought. Because for the most part they believer that by killing non believers they are doing god swork and therefore assuring there place in Heaven.


BTW This is Not an Ignorant question

Answer 5

Your question is flawed. Many wars are started with no religious roots at all. WWI and WWII, Vietnam, US Civil War, US Revolutionary War, French Revolution, the Soviet-Afgahn war and many more throughout history were not started under the auspices of Religion.

Answer 6

Religious people don't start all wars.Learn the history of warfare and the causes of it, so you don't come across as some kind of dullard.Furthermore,Jesus didn't say what to do when you run out of cheeks.

Answer 7

I think its always been human nature to fight or compete with each other if you will over something or the other. The reason religion starts so many wars is that each side wants to think and prove to not only others but to themselves that theirs is the one and only god. And since god is on their side they will win. If they win,, then it proves that they pray to right god,proves that theirs is not an empty faith which so many of us want to feel. And ofcourse not everything thats written in the bible or the quran is followed by a individual calling himself/herself christian or muslim.

Answer 8

Anybody who thinks jewish, christian, or moslem religion is not about killing has not read there bible lately. The old testament is all about killing. Did God think the people living in the promised land were just going to move out of the way.

Answer 9

Religious people are human beings, too. And human beings are members of the animal kingdom, just like monkeys and hyenas. When humans set aside their ability to reason (which is what sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom), we are voluntarily giving in to our primal instincts of violence.

Answer 10

Some people in our current world society are drastically misusing religion to fuel their own fanatic beliefs. No religion that I'm aware of advocates "killing".