When does religion cause violence?

Question

It seems like a lot of wars are due to differences in religious beliefs. Is this true? Are we better off believing in {name your religion here}....

Answer 1

When people start talking about the DIFFERENCES instead of the SIMILARITIES of their chosen religion.

From what I've seen and experienced, the core of all religions are VERY similar. Good enough for me!

Answer 2

I for one do not think religion causes violence.
Violent action ,including wars, are started or caused by religious fanatics which belief that theirs is the only "right" religion and therefore must be embraced by everybody.
A selfish and narrow minded approach to life and definitely not what most religions preach . This can go on and on, but in a nutshell here is the problem.

Answer 3

Religions are primitive faith-based philosophies. Like all philosophies, they were intended to provide people with a moral guidance. Unfortunately, morality is not the result of faith, but of reason. With religions, humans took the wrong turn and caused a lot of trouble.

Only through reason one can distinguish the real from the unreal, the true from the false, and the moral from the immoral. No court of law could be just if it were based on faith. Imagine what it means to say "I believe you are guilty, I believe you are wrong, I believe you are evil: God tells me so. You must be punished or killed." It's no wonder that religions cannot guarantee peace. Only reason can give us inalienable individual rights that can be protected objectively.

Faith can trick the mind. Choose reason and the evidence of the senses to prove anything.

Answer 4

Religions cause violence when one side, or another, finds an inability to accept religious beliefs that aren't their own.

I don't think we're all better believing in one religion; I like diversity, I think it's a great part of life. I just think we all need to develop a little more tolerance. We don't have to accept that all religions have a right path to the divine, but we need to be able to live and let live.

Besides, without diversity, we'd all still be running around naked, grunting at each other for communication. :P

Answer 5

I would say wars are caused by people being close minded. Most religions (especially the ones that people think cause the wars) are based on the same beliefs, values, and history. But some people (i'm not saying all) are very close minded about their particular religion. The disagreements that come from the close minded-ness is what starts all the fighting

Answer 6

Religious beliefs do not start wars. If you actually research religions most of them teach compassion, truth, peace, forgiveness, and love....from Hindu to Islam to the Christians.

I once heard a man say that when you loose the ability to laugh at yourself you begin to take the world too seriously. When you start to take the world too seriously you loose the ability to see the beauty in our differences and only see the bad stuff.

I think that is when men start wars...when they start too see only the bad in the world that they forget about all the good things and only teach hate, mistrust, and anger....we all need to take a lesson from our children...who are born without the ability to mistrust, condemn, hate, or judge people...only adults can teach them that.

Answer 7

A religion causes violence When it thinks that it is the one true and only correct way to God.

I can't insert the name of my religion where you asked me to because I don't have a religion.

I study the word of Jesus from a book called the course in miracles.

The message contained in these pages has completely changed my life. It has taken me from believing in a judgmental punishing God to believing in a God that never makes any mistakes, a God that is unconditionally loving. A god who has a plan for the salvation of all of us that is going to work.

It has shown me that everyone is a precious part of what I am. It has allowed me to see everyone that I meet as a beautiful part of God deserving of my love and respect.

If your faith does not allow you to see each and every person you come in contact with as someone that you love with all of you heart then your faith is failing you miserably. This need not be.

Jesus asks that we love our neighbor, he allowed for no exception to this rule. Has your faith made this idea of love that Jesus left for us into a reality for you? If not, then why not. Was this not always the intention of our brother Jesus for us?

If your faith has not done these things for you then I suggest that you get a copy of the course in miracles and study it with me.

If you find the things that I am saying a bit hard to believe I can understand that. I have studied this material for over 7 years. At first glance the concepts it spoke of seemed at the very least, unlikely. They certainly did not match up with the formula consensus reality had given me to work out the problems that I encountered in my life. That really didn't matter to me by that time because the old formulas had not served me that well anyway.

If you are happy with everything about your life this is not a book that you need to be reading. If by chance, there are aspects of your life that seem to trouble you, then this is a book that you should be reading. If a 7 years ago you had told me that one simple book held the key to every single problem that I was faced with in my life, I would have laughed in your face, and thought that you must be a fool to say such a thing. Yet after working with the concepts that this book teaches, I feel more strongly about there ability set things right in my life than ever.

I came into this encounter with this material a jaded skeptic, who believed in nothing. I had tried, and rejected nearly every path, seeing truth in none of them. Yes, each seemed at first to be truth, but the initial lift that they gave proved not to stand the test of time. This material is different, It seeks to correct the errors in thinking that are currently causing the conflicts, and disappointment in our lives before they can happen.

It also shows the folly of approaching the idea of love from the conventionally acceptable way. That is, reserving love only for those we have judged worthy of it. It has taught me that this is not love at all, it is only judgment.


Love and blessings.
don

Answer 8

Google the darkish a while, the Crusades. this is a initiate. After that in basic terms look on the medical doctors, receptionists and risk-free practices workers that have been murdered via individuals or the non secular the superb option that are anti-determination. Then there are the actual assaults against persons that are gay in keeping with what faith says concerning to them (i think of the previous testomony demands them to be stoned on the gate of the city...i'm undecided) short answer: sure, a lot of violence in the process the written historic past of mankind.

Answer 9

Since before written history, people have fought over beliefs and religion. Your sudden realization of this know fact is overwhelming to me.

The problem people of the world have in tolerance. Yes there would be less violence in the world if we wanted to be what religion we were and we would tolerate others to worship (or not worship) as they please.

However, when we have a situation like we have today where extremist want to kill and destroy all others who don't believe as they do, then we have a problem. As long as others want to kill because people don't believe as they do, we'll continue to have killing, violence and wars. I agree its a horrible situation, but what can you do with people who want to kill you because you believe as you do?

You can ignore them and hope they go away, or you can attempt to fight back to protect yourself. My heart hurts when I think of all the pain in the world over religion.

Answer 10

It's an interesting note that only the Abrahamic religions have had and started wars because of their religious beliefs.

Otherwise, it depends. The Mayans sacrificed the hearts of prisoners.

Answer 11

Religion doesn't cause the wars. It's stupidity in the human race that causes it. If someone thinks there religion is better than someone else's religion. Then that just shows you how shallow and closed minded they are.