Does anyone agree that without religion the world would be war free?

Question

Or would countries, and other groups find something else to feud over?

Answer 1

What about things like land, money, water, women, food, just plain lust for power, glory, oil, economic systems, political system, skin color, race, national origin, language, a pig, and more. Every one of the items listed above has been the cause of at least one non-religious war.

In the last century alone, more kills have been committed by atheist (Russia, China, North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, etc.) - about 180 millions - then by any other single group or religion in all the rest of history. Bad as they were, the Crusades only tallied up about 40 million deaths over 6 centuries (counting kills by Christians, Muslims and Jews). The most in a single century was the 11th century with about 10 million.

So "non-religious" wars manage to score about an 18:1 kill ratio victory over the worst religion war.

No, getting rid of religion would not end wars.

Answer 2

the world will likely never be war free.

I studied the history of southeast Asia (India) in college.It is one of the oldest civilizations..going back to 3000 B.C.

It was a history of war...about every 20-30 years, there was another war.

I was really struck by it. Though that class was close to 20 years ago, the impression still remains strong. I remember him talking about all the battle strategies.

The problems is though there has always been war, there have never been weapons like we have now with such a potential of mass destruction.

Put 10 people in a room and you'll have disagreements and personality clashes...look how many people are in the world. It's inevitable.

You're maybe basing it more on war in the last 500 years. This war was not about religion but money and protecting investments. If the towers was not done/collapsed as we were told, then no religion was involved at all

Answer 3

No, as the vast majority of wars have either a) had no connection with religion, or b) if had a connection with religion, their causes were far more complex than to simply say "religion was the cause". Look at the "List of wars and disasters by death toll" in Wikipedia just to have a little look, but here are a few examples:

WWII (62,000,000 dead)
An Shi Rebellion (42,000,000 dead) - a general (An Lushan) rebelled against the Tang dynasty (756-763)
Mongol Expansion (30 - 60 million dead)

the first religious war listed is the "Taiping Rebellion" under the leadership of Hong Xuiquan, who claimed to be the new Messiah, and younger brother of Jesus (killed 20 - 50 million).

Personally I believe most wars are caused by the attitudes and general narcissism of the people who cause them, and by people's often blind following of authority.

Answer 4

Religion is one of the major predispositions to hostility and conflict. It's not the only one but it is, probably, the most intransigent since it masquerades as immutable TRUTH. You can't negotioate or compromise with that presumption.

If that stormcloud were to burn away in a new dawn tomorrow, I don't think it would stop all war, however. People would find another cover for their domineering agendas. Nationalism, perhaps, or economics. Capitalism V Communism. Some wars would stop, others would take their place but reason would become a powerful weapon which, at present, is not the case.

Answer 5

Without religion people would still find something to fight about. I really don't think that every war in the world has been started by religion, that may be one factor but there are many others to go along with it.

Answer 6

Countries and other groups would find something else to fued over. People don't only fight due to religion. Actually people usually go to war over economic reasons, religion has very little to do with it

Answer 7

While the world would not be war-free, there would probably be less wars. If a politician was unable to cite an imaginary God to justify a war, he or she would need to produce a much more convincing argument in order to get the acquiescence of the people.

Answer 8

There would be less violence in this world if there was no religion.

Most (not all) wars are caused by religion. Go back in history far enough and you will find ALL wars/invasions are caused by religion.

The thing is, religious people would find something else to grab hold of and use it to justify the excuse for harming other people. Thou shalt not harm - do me a favour!!

If a religious person kills another person then they go to hell...UNLESS they repent their sins in which case God then lets them off. Soooo, even if you are a mass murderer (GWB take note) by saying you're "sorry" before you die lets you off the hook - how convenient! They can be bad people and know that they'll still go to heaven because they can repent.

Religion is there to control people. Anyone can live a decent life and have the utmost respect for other people (and their beliefs) without believing themselves. If you are religious then EVERY OTHER RELIGION (except yours) is WRONG.

After all, 400+ years ago if I'd have said I didn't believe in god then I would have been hounded by the church and my reputation (even my life) destroyed by them, just because I didn't agree with what they say. I'm glad Galileo stood up to them and allowed us all to voice our opinion without fear of retribution.

Peace to you all, what ever your religion, from an Atheist.

Answer 9

Some religions were created with the sole purpose of having an excuse to go to war, so I would say that it would not prevent war. There would just be a different excuse

Answer 10

Jambo... Religion does not cause wars... man does. And where in the world is a war based on religion being fought.... in no one's holy book does it say, thou must go wage war on people whose opinions differ from yours.... from my understanding most religion teaches tolerance and understanding, from Christianity to Islam.

But we would all be bickering about the same thing as we are today.... weapons of mass destruction, oil shortages, natural water supplies running out, pollution...