Has Religion caused the most of wars?

Question

Does religion cause war / racial tension / social chaos?

Is it because religions conflict ? Are there scriptures written so that they inscribe hate against other faiths / choices?

Answer 1

Yes religion has caused wars, religion is about interpetation rather then the true spirit of god or if you perfer the higher power.
Religion requires that you must agree with a particular interpetation of the word if you do not you are wrong and as such you must be changed, at first an attempt is made at transforming your belief and when that does not work you become the enemy.
Obviously the real aim of religion is control and power, the sad truth is, at it´s very basic level it is about money as this is what drives all power and control.
True spirituality is about letting go and being guided by the love we are all connected to, which is what makes us all brothers and sisters.
A study of history shows us how masses of people have been lead by small groups of fanatics that use their interpetation of the god´s words in order to achieve their goals, the good news is that the spirit of the lord continues to protect us all as we walk through this wonderful thing called life.

Answer 2

For some reason atheists have a hard time admitting that Russia and communist China banded together and slew millions of their own people. This under the official banner of atheism. Maybe they fear we are calling all atheists communists. No. But the point remains in a relatively short blip in history. They have amassed an impressive murderous record. What people don't want to look at is most wars are mostly about grabbing what belongs to someone else and taking it for yourself.Some wrongly misuse religion in order to try and motivate a war they would otherwise not be interested in fighting.

Answer 3

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 4

Well, if there are multiple religions, it 'could' create a 'we' group and a 'them' group. One of these can think they are 'the right ones' and say "let's go and make the others convince the are wrong" wich ofcourse can end in a war. But i don't think that religion is the main source of war, i think it's more about territory disputes and lust for power that drives wars. Also, the social-economic situation of a nation can cause tension and turmoil. War is a complex conflict wich is a result of a series of events that preceded it.

Answer 5

Wars, at their very core, are about land. After all, that's how you measure who wins! Some conflicts do have religious undertones- for example, Hindus and Muslims in India are in conflict over land, but there's also tension because Muslims eat cows, which Hindus believe are sacred. But like everyone's been saying, most wars are about something else, and then religion is brought in as an excuse.

Answer 6

"Intolerance does not arise when I think I have found the truth. Rather it comes about only when I think that because I have found it, everyone else should agree with me."

- Michael Behe, Darwin's Black Box

I don't think it's because the scriptures of various religions disagree, but because people think that others should be forced to submit to their beliefs. Furthermore, it should be noted that even atheists can fall into this trap. For example, Daniel Dennett has advocated that Christians who "taught their children that '"Man" is not a product of evolution by natural selection,' should be put in a 'cage' like wild animals to 'quarantine' them and their views from their own children".

Answer 7

PEOPLE have caused the most wars! Divisive people. Look at the war in Afghanistan & Iraq- NOTHING to do with religion, just the rich mans greed.

It begins with demonizing the 'enemy': if people realised how the 'enemy' is almost identical to us and our families then nobody would fight or kill. But if they 'hate your freedoms' and 'want to destroy your way of life', then it makes them a more viable target.

"The first victim of war is the truth." Ancient Roman proverb.

Answer 8

Yes, because it is an acceptable excuse for those that want power. Want of power or money is the cause, religion is the excuse.

Answer 9

To blame God is a cop-out at best.

Man bastardizes God(in the name of God), NOT the other way around.

God came to earth not to condemn man, but save him from his own path of destruction.

Answer 10

no religon deserves to be callled that if it ain't peacefull
it's people who use religons in false name to fight for money and the power
like the crusaders and it goes on...and on