How come athesits blame religion for wars?

Question

Religion doesn't cause wars. Greedy people and Imperalism cause war.

Answer 1

Your details are correct and accurate. Before religions were "born" men fought constantly and always for power and control over others, their land, their resources.

Those that claim to "know" history and say that WW II was about religion better go back to grade school and read some 5th grade books.

Answer 2

I'm not sure how you can know, Bunny, that atheists believe that; like anything, some do ...and some do not.

Let's rephrase your question: would there have been NO wars if there were no religion? Answer: probably. What would people be fighting about? Answer: same stuff as always: they want more land, control of commerce, an economic benefit, protection from a threat -and all the rest of it. So, maybe religion has never really been the cause of war. Maybe, it is used as an excuse for war, and an inspiration to FIGHT.

But its hard to imagine people -in history, anyway- as having NEITHER religion NOR war. The tendency to build institutions around a belief in the Almighty -and the tendency to go to war- seem to be found together. Why is that?

Let me clarify that the word "religion" does NOT mean "belief in God." The word refers to a complete system of thought, belief, morals, and worship that humans use to understand and interact with one another and with a power much greater than themselves. That power need not even be understood to be "God," as Christians, for example, think of God. It could be a mere concept, such as communism, or perhaps a spiritual force of some kind in the universe. Whatever it is, religion will always be marked by institutions -such as churches- and organizations of people -such as priests, deacons, rabbis, imams and and popes-to explain, enforce and popularize the beliefs held by the believers. And so, it should come as no surprise that the top folks in the organization are powerful people. Many are believed to have such a special relationship with or understanding of the higher power that they, themselves become quite powerful.

In ancient times, as mankind was becoming civilized, societies typically were organized and controlled by powerful religious figures. These were the folks who made sure the crops were planted and harvested and who offered some measure of physical protection to the average guy on the street. And because there was much that was not understrood in those old days, such as floods, volcanoes and swarms of bugs, the average guy looked to the top guy for help on what to do about it all.

As human populations grew in various places, they began to compete for resources -places to grow crops, raise animals, pull ore from the ground, control water or simply to rest your head at night. These early societies had a need both to take over their neighbor's territory and to defend their own. And thus, "war" as an organized activity carried on by large groups of people came to be. And who would you expect would be in charge of that enterprise? The top religious guys, of course!

That's all very simplified, but you get the idea. Fortunately, as we've become a bit better informed about how the world works, most religions preach against war and violence -or, at least, don't promote it as the best way to get what you want. But its not happening all at once. Thus, there was a Nazi movement which held that the inhabitants of Germany were superior to all others, and a communist movement which held that all power belonged to the people -when they were finally ready to handle it but meantime belonged to the State. And we all know how dedicated radicals behave -they blow up themselves and other people because of their beliefs.

Returning to your question, we might just as well say that plenty of religious people blame religion for war, because of the close association between religion and war making I've just explained. The answer is: there's a little truth to it. But just a little -when you look at it closely, the concept is no more valid than the idea that democrats like high taxes.

I hope that helps, and thanks for the question.

Answer 3

The word Crusade means "Holy War". What does that tell you? Crusades are not just part of our history. They are very much our reality. Have you been to the middle east lately? What do you think is going on over there?? They're not sitting together having tea and chocolate biscuits. It isn't just christianity that causes war (though, they've caused their fair share) nearly every religion world-wide has started a conflict with another throughout the course of history. While there are almost always underlying political themes attached, that's not how they start out.

Answer 4

I'm not an Atheist, but I do agree that more wars have been fought in the name of religion than anything else. You only have to look back through history to see how the idea of a supreme religion or religious intolerance has been the fundamental reason underlying many crusades, campaigns and wars. Just look at the state the world is in today, although it may not touch us here in the Western world directly, people in places such as Israel, Palestine and Afghanistan are fighting and dying every day in the name of religion. I agree that more often than not, religion is simply the facade that fanatics hide behind, but those beliefs are still inherant to their cause. Look at it this way, a religious fanatic is basically a lunatic with something to believe in!

Answer 5

Many wars that were claimed to be in the "Name of Religion" was more culture wars than a religious wars. Other wars that were claimed in the name of a religion was basically just a reason to be used by warmongers. Take Bush for example, he used the notion that God told him to attack Irag. I doubt God ever talked to Bush. Actually, I'd stake my life on it.

Answer 6

Unfortunately, many wars have been caused by religious belief (the Crusades, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the 30 year war, etc.). Yet most wars have been fought over land, power, freedom, or politics (like WW1).

Answer 7

Well let's see. The crusades were about winning a holy city, the nazis were christian based(and used it against people), we also have muslim extremists, and more. No wonder I blame religion for war.

Answer 8

Because we've read history books. Not all war is because of religion but allot of death has taken place in the name of one faith or another fighting over there differences.

Answer 9

If you want the populace to enlist in your cause the first thing you do is---demonize" the enemy." Religion is tailor made for just such a purpose. All intelligent war mongers have used it.

Answer 10

those greedy people start wars in the name of their religion

Answer 11

Take a look at what is happening in the world right now.When you've done that,study some history.There are and have been many wars because of religion and religious beliefs.