Is religion the cause of all war?

Answer 1

Consider this: If man is the cause of all wars, where does man get the idea from to go to war? Religion!



Now I've answered this question before on this site. However I shall just give you the conclusion of my work... Please feel free to contact me for the full work.


Religions can be described as tautological totalitarianism establishments, which people chose abide by or others have them forced upon them, regardless of the individual’s opposition. In a number of instances if the person has no particular belief, they are: deemed to be infatuated by the devil or classed as psychologically unbalanced. If humanity desires to pursue religion for happiness, harmony etc they should do so at their peril, unless they revolutionise their traditions.

The only solution to get close to Him, is to have a relationship with God instead. You need to identify Him as He is, not according to someone else. Do what God instructs, not what people assume he said. Only then you will have an absolutely different experience with God. Those who are privileged enough to have a secure relationship with god, will enlighten you that this individual is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. This is the only plausible substitute and these intellectual individuals will simply want a genuine God and nothing besides will suffice, until then mankind will remain nonplussed.

A person’s belief in God derives from an individual’s imagination and to some degree intellect. Throughout my life as a jurist I have spent many hours listening to views and trying to consider the coherence and cogency ideas of mankind. However as with all debates they have their limits where conclusive proof is required and religion is a prime example. Religions have many distinguishing scriptures, dogmas, doctrines etc but the word “religion” has no more credibility that there is an “animal”. I have only shown some of the major flaws with religions in this work, however the list is not exhaustive.

Whilst Atheists have no need to attack foreign lands, hold no superstition, they are given no credibility. Those following religion are most liable to cause colossal torment, as this is the ideology of his/her religion, which can be concluded from the evidence so far. The Atheist causes no bloodshed, has no prejudices to cause offense and is seen as suspicious. Whose ideals are untrustworthy, that bonds cannot be relied upon those intolerable people.

However since I am an Atheist/Agnostic, I shall require tangible evidence, to acknowledge this individual exists. I will need to meet this person on earth whilst I live. So I will wait with immense anticipation to meet this mortal soul, until then my position is that; I am not convinced. Furthermore I personally find religions uncongenial to a socially gregarious man of extensive interests such as I.

Civilisation will have to acknowledge that, any type of discrimination against minority groups is and shall remain absurd & abhorrent. Irrespective of the source of discrimination is Nazism, condemning gays to hell, advocating slavery etc. Religions do not have any justified raison d'être to desist from the morals of egalitarianism. If a person has deemed to committed sin, then it shall only be up to God to judge that individual and not for religions to comment on the appropriate course of action.

The fundamental intellectual question is: can people pursue religion just for the sake of it? From the substantial evidence and examples specified within this work. I have shown that if we should follow religion, only dangerous regression to anarchy is the most likely probable outcome. The reasonable alternative is to believe in a true God and implement legislation, which hold fairness, equality and humanity to form a stable society. If no God is ever forthcoming, then the latter part must prevail and the correct steps taken to eradicate religion, which can simply be described as a sin.

This reminds me of the famous American Steven Weinberg, the Nobel prize winning Theoretical Physicist who said “religion is a insult to human dignity, without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. However for good people to do evil things it takes religion”.

Finally here is a seed for your consideration: Religion is the consequence of faith deficient of intelligence.



RS KC LL.B (HONS) M Jur © 2005


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Answer 2

No. Culture does. That said, many religions historically were infused with the culture. Most nowadays aren't, but a few are. I'll give an example: The Crusades. The cultures between Muslims and Catholics clashed, Muslims attacked aid stations, Catholics responded by sending knights on over to take everything. The Bible says not to do that, but the culture was one that was dominated by warfare (most of those who went were retired soldiers). So the religion was violated by the culture and was made a part of that culture. The only time a religion would cause war is if that religion cannot exist in any culture. Buddhism can be anywhere and not cause problems, and obviously it hasn't caused wars. Christianity is the same. Modern Catholicism, and more modern religions are also the same. Islam is not because it itself is a theo-political society. It's just history. A war is never about religion or even personal opinion. It's about greed and power.

Answer 3

Over the centuries many cunning people have used religious beliefs to stir up fear, distrust and hatred, leading to wars, which is just what those wicked people want. That is not the same as religion causing those wars - it's simply been an excuse (combined with other factors) used to help foment trouble. And, as others have already answered, some wars had no element of religion in them at all. So the simple answer to your question is, "No."

But the issue is complex and there ARE examples of wars fought purely on the basis of clashing religious beliefs/practices. They are arguably the most horrific. Another factor, rarely considered, is the unseen activity of demonic forces. We've been given advance notice in the Bible that the time is coming when "spirits of demons performing miraculous signs go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty... Armageddon." (Revelation 16:12-16) This won't be like any battles ever fought before because God will judge justly and "bring to ruin those ruining the earth".

Answer 4

In 2004 a study was conducted, analysing the causes of wars in the past century (and in particular, how religion may have caused them). They found only 3 out of the 32 wars studied had a signifiant religious element. For example, even the Irish wars can be considered to be more nationalistic, being about the liberation of territory just as much (if not more) as of religion.

They also found that this century's main wars (WW1 and 2, the Russian and Chinese civil wars), which caused 75% of all casualties of war, cannot be attributable to religion.

Although in the past, like the crusades, religion was a key reason (if not the only one) for war, in modern times at least it is usually governments that cause war. Religion is just a convenient excuse. Although obviously religious fanatics have a clear religious goal, they also often have motivations to do wih nationality etc. So religion cannot be said to be the key cause of all war.

Answer 5

No, Atheists and secular humanists consistently make the claim that religion is the #1 cause of violence and war throughout the history of mankind. One of hatetheism's key cheerleaders, Sam Harris, says in his book The End of Faith that faith and religion are “the most prolific source of violence in our history.”1

While there’s no denying that campaigns such as the Crusades and the Thirty Years’ War foundationally rested on religious ideology, it is simply incorrect to assert that religion has been the primary cause of war. Moreover, although there’s also no disagreement that radical Islam was the spirit behind 9/11, it is a fallacy to say that all faiths contribute equally where religiously-motivated violence and warfare are concerned.

An interesting source of truth on the matter is Philip and Axelrod’s three-volume Encyclopedia of Wars, which chronicles some 1,763 wars that have been waged over the course of human history. Of those wars, the authors categorize 123 as being religious in nature,2 which is an astonishingly low 6.98% of all wars. However, when one subtracts out those waged in the name of Islam (66), the percentage is cut by more than half to 3.23%.

That means that all faiths combined – minus Islam – have caused less than 4% of all of humanity’s wars and violent conflicts. Further, they played no motivating role in the major wars that have resulted in the most loss of life.

Kind of puts a serious dent into Harris’ argument, doesn’t it?

The truth is, non-religious motivations and naturalistic philosophies bear the blame for nearly all of humankind’s wars. Lives lost during religious conflict pales in comparison to those experienced during the regimes who wanted nothing to do with the idea of God – something showcased in R. J. Rummel’s work Lethal Politics and Death by Government:

Non-Religious Dictator Lives Lost

Joseph Stalin - 42,672,000
Mao Zedong - 37,828,000
Adolf Hitler - 20,946,000
Chiang Kai-shek - 10,214,000
Vladimir Lenin - 4,017,000
Hideki Tojo - 3,990,000
Pol Pot - 2,397,0003
Rummel says: “Almost 170 million men, women and children have been shot, beaten, tortured, knifed, burned, starved, frozen, crushed or worked to death; buried alive, drowned, hung, bombed or killed in any other of a myriad of ways governments have inflicted death on unarmed, helpless citizens and foreigners. The dead could conceivably be nearly 360 million people. It is though our species has been devastated by a modern Black Plague. And indeed it has, but a plague of Power, not germs.”4

The historical evidence is quite clear: Religion is not the #1 cause of war.

If religion can’t be blamed for most wars and violence, then what is the primary cause? The same thing that triggers all crime, cruelty, loss of life, and other such things. Jesus provides the answer very clearly: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man” (Mark 7:21–23).

James (naturally) agrees with Christ when he says: “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel” (James 4:1–2).

In the end, the evidence shows that the atheists are quite wrong about the wars they claim to so desperately despise. Sin is the #1 cause of war and violence, not religion, and certainly not Christianity.

https://carm.org/religion-cause-war

Answer 6

the fact that there are different religions is what causes war, if everyone believed in the same thing even though their beliefs would still be classed as a religion there would be no war.

Answer 7

no. religion doesn't really cause war but religion is often used as a justification for war. all wars are about gaining land and resources. those in power get their religious sheeple citizenry in a frenzy of indignation so they'll sacrifice themselves and their neighbors lives in order to provide the powerful with more wealth and power. religious folks are more gullible so often fall for the "holy war" routine.

Answer 8

No people are the cause of everything. They may carry things out in the name of religion but when you get down to it its always to do with control and power.

Answer 9

In a nut shell, just what Buddy said, Man is the cause of all war.

Answer 10

Most but not all, hence Helen of Troy. The 100 years wars, it actually lasted for 106 years, was about turf. WWII was about race. Japanese -v- The West, Soviet -v- Nazies (Slavs -v- Anglo's/ Germanics). WWI was about industrial strength. Iran/ Iraq, Iraq Kuwait? Same religions, different sects. GW1 & GW2? Muslem -v- Muslim with Christian bolt ons. Depends on who you believe.

Answer 11

There have been TONS of wars that had nothing to do with religion. Korea, Viet Nam, Grenada, Panama, Somalia, and Desert Storm are just recent examples.