How many people, total, were murdered by Christian inquisitions and crusades?

Answer 1

In addition to the estimates above, remember:
+ The Crusades were wars with armies on both sides. War is not usually considered murder.
+ The Inquisition consisted of lawful trials and if the suspect was found guilty and if he was sentenced to death then that death was lawful capital punishment and not murder.

+ The Crusades +

Muslim armies had conquered much of northern Africa, Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Spain, which had been some of the most heavily Christian areas in the world.

Thousands, and possibly millions, of Christians died during this drive to eventually bring the entire world under Islam.

The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II to check the advance of the Muslims and regain control of the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

I am sure that some atrocities including murder were committed by both sides during this war but by most people's judgment this was a just war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Crusade

+ The Inquisition +

Modern historians have long known that the popular view of the Inquisition is a myth. The Inquisition was actually an attempt by the Catholic Church to stop unjust executions.

Heresy was a capital offense against the state. Rulers of the state, whose authority was believed to come from God, had no patience for heretics. Neither did common people, who saw heretics as dangerous outsiders who would bring down divine wrath.

When someone was accused of heresy in the early Middle Ages, they were brought to the local lord for judgment, just as if they had stolen a pig. It was not to discern whether the accused was really a heretic. The lord needed some basic theological training, very few did. The sad result is that uncounted thousands across Europe were executed by secular authorities without fair trials or a competent judge of the crime.

The Catholic Church's response to this problem was the Inquisition, an attempt to provide fair trials for accused heretics using laws of evidence and presided over by knowledgeable judges.

From the perspective of secular authorities, heretics were traitors to God and the king and therefore deserved death. From the perspective of the Church, however, heretics were lost sheep who had strayed from the flock. As shepherds, the pope and bishops had a duty to bring them back into the fold, just as the Good Shepherd had commanded them. So, while medieval secular leaders were trying to safeguard their kingdoms, the Church was trying to save souls. The Inquisition provided a means for heretics to escape death and return to the community.

Most people tried for heresy by the Inquisition were either acquitted or had their sentences suspended. Those found guilty of grave error were allowed to confess their sin, do penance, and be restored to the Body of Christ. The underlying assumption of the Inquisition was that, like lost sheep, heretics had simply strayed.

If, however, an inquisitor determined that a particular sheep had purposely left the flock, there was nothing more that could be done. Unrepentant or obstinate heretics were excommunicated and given over to secular authorities. Despite popular myth, the Inquisition did not burn heretics. It was the secular authorities that held heresy to be a capital offense, not the Church. The simple fact is that the medieval Inquisition saved uncounted thousands of innocent (and even not-so-innocent) people who would otherwise have been roasted by secular lords or mob rule.

Where did this myth come from? After 1530, the Inquisition began to turn its attention to the new heresy of Lutheranism. It was the Protestant Reformation and the rivalries it spawned that would give birth to the myth. Innumerable books and pamphlets poured from the printing presses of Protestant countries at war with Spain accusing the Spanish Inquisition of inhuman depravity and horrible atrocities in the New World.

For more information, see:
The Real Inquisition, By Thomas F. Madden, National Review (2004) http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/madden200406181026.asp
Inquisition by Edward Peters (1988)
The Spanish Inquisition by Henry Kamen (1997)
The Spanish Inquisition: Fact Versus Fiction, By Marvin R. O'Connell (1996): http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/history/world/wh0026.html

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Historians distinguish between 4 distinctive manifestations of the Inquisition: Medieval Inquisition (1184 - 1230) Spanish Inquisition (1478 - not formally abolished till 1834) Fewer than 60 have been performed in Spain by using the full era of the Inquisition. Portuguese Inquisition (1538 - ?) Roman Inquisition. (1542 till the mid-1800s) whilst many atrosities occured interior the inquisitions, maximum trials have been in contrast to this. the main prominent case tried by the Roman Inquisition grow to be that of Galileo Galilei in 1633. He died under domicile arrest of organic in 1942 on the age of seventy 8. i'm going to verify if i will discover the numbers for you.

Answer 3

That was more than 900 years ago! Do you realize this? More than 950 years ago actually!

Christians, Muslims and Jews understand the great danger the international community is in today. The dangers of Hezbollah, Terrorists. etc.

Danger extends to the 'doorstep' of every democratic, freedom-loving nation.
So Christians, Muslims and Jews are contiually growing and learning about the values we share in common.
Christians and Jews and Muslims are accustomed to being libeled, hated, and used as scapegoats for the world's ills.
However, the difference today is that Jews and Christians and Muslims have been linked together, both by the need to defeat terrorism and our commitment to a common set of moral and spiritual values.
Given the global dangers we face today as Jews, Muslims, and Christians together, we are increasingly becomming aware of the ongoing opportunities we have to forge even closer bonds. ~(~


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Answer 4

The Almanac of Evil chronicles to the best of my knowledge the various crimes against humanity of the Vatican concerning the unlawful murder of millions during the crusades and inquisitions.

See:
http://one-faith-of-god.org/final_testament/end_of_darkness/evil/evil_0160.htm

The conservative estimate is around 150 million, which includes not only those directly tortured to death, burned to death and variously "executed", but those who died as a direct result of church policies promoting disease and pandemics.

To a lesser extent, the same approach continues today, particularly in Africa and the refusal of the Vatican to change its stance on contraceptions to stop the rise of AIDS, particularly amongst women.

Answer 5

many wars faught, many murders committed, it has been the habit of the catholics and the christians that only they are forgiven... so without conscience they commit the sins. They are not able to practice what they preach.... the greatest of all wars were fought by these two religions... war is not justification for murder... and as far as I'm concerned everyone who goes to another's land to wage war is guilty of murder... don't know the numbers man but it certainly is high enough for us to see that these religions would sell out peace at the drop of a hat and in a world working for war that should be taken as a warning... like the wolf in sheep's clothing... they are still doing it.

Answer 6

Death toll of the crusades: approx. 9,000,000
http://www.geocities.com/paulntobin/crusades.html

Keep in mind that the crusades was an inter-religious and inter-continental war, and not solely a Christian thing.

Death toll of the spanish inquisition:
Thought to be about 3,000-5,000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition#Death_tolls