Of the 473 wars since 1800, how many were caused by religion?

Question

I always hear about how religions starts wars and spur violence. Just out of curiosity, I wonder if any of those who make that claim could tell me how many of the 473 wars and conflicts throughout the world (and that is just since 1800) were due to religion?

Answer 1

did you honestly expect them to name ANY? another atheist myth bites the dust...wait, wait...i forgot the 'intellectual superiority' and 'fact-based logic'...so i guess that makes 3 myths down the proverbial toilet...

Answer 2

I don't agree with your method of grouping the wars. You're asking for a percentage of the wars caused by religion, when that doesn't account for the destructiveness of the individual war.

For example, how are we to compare the secular boxer rebellion in China with World War II, which was a religious war that killed 20 million people? Religious wars are frequently the most destructive wars.

I think you'd be better off asking "how many people have been killed since 1800 based on religious conflicts?" That will give you a better picture of the destructive power of religion.

The number is greater than 50 million.

Answer 3

Very good question.
Since the 1800s and the age of enlightenment a new worldview came into being. Given belief in evolution, Karl Marx and others applied this concept of 'survival of the fittest' to social struggles and decided that anyone who stood in the way of his new ideal of communism was expendable. After all, if we are just the product of time and chance, what inherent value does any individual have.
This philosophy gave Stalin the right to kill an estimated 60 million people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin#Number_of_victims
A previous answerer said that we should look the number of people killed. That answerer would find more people killed in secular conflict than any religious conflict.
Hitler decided to help evolution along and create a superior race. Who can blame him for eliminating those millions of inferior people who were slowing down the progress of evolution. His work with genetics and experiments to create the ultimate utopia should be applauded. NOT.

After all if there is no God who has created people in His own image, than the individual has no value outside of that ascribed by other people for their selfish purposes.

Answer 4

I think the relevant aspect of your question should be why has religion been used as a power base instead of a ritual that would help humans to grow spiritually no matter what their beliefs are.....It is easy to be disgusted at some of the results of Islamic extremism yet the history of christianity is rife with the same kind of abuse of power.. Think of the Inquisition when 5 million women were exterminated for things as simple as being midwives......Be grateful that this country has in itsfoundation the separation of church and state. Iraq is buried in a civil war that began 1700years ago, and its completely over a religious concept. Lets face it , man is aggressive by evolutionary necessity....I doubt it will change soon...

Answer 5

473

Answer 6

I don't wish to research all these conflicts. I am sure a few of them had to do with religion but the early ones I did research were about increasing a nation's (and therefore a king's) power. Wars of independence or about money (trade)... Power and greed seem to have it head and shoulders above all other reasons for starting a war including religion... Jim

Answer 7

I don't have an exact number, however, look at most of the warfare that has gone on in the middle east. 99% of those are religious in nature. Look at that mess in Bosnia in the 90's...that was christians vs. muslims.

I'm pretty sure alot of conflicts, and genocides, in those African nations are riddled with religious strife and 'reasons'.
Plus we have the genocides perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire at the outset of the early 20th century, which had its roots in christian vs. muslim conflict and differences. As we all know alot of these whack-jobs mask genocide as 'war'.

Plus you don't have to go back much further than 1800 to find the religious wars that tore apart europe. Specifically in Germany, France and Spain.

These are the ones I know from the top of my dead, I'm sure if I actually looked I could uncover many more.

Answer 8

None of them. Religion is an EXCUSE people hide behind when they really want money, power, and land, and control over the people or resources in that land.

Religion is the lie they hide behind, none of them could care less about religion - and that includes the Catholic Church and it's many wars (Crusades, Inquisitions, etc.)

It's never, ever been about God, or religion. It's ALWAYS been about money, power, land, property, and the control of the people in whatever areas of the earth were desired.

If you look at each and every war, this is what you'll see. People doing it in the name of their god, but with material ulterior motives, every single time.

Answer 9

None of the wars were caused by God's true Religion
In the days of King Arther, they would under the name of Religion. Down through history religion has been used to show they are in the right. God will help His people in times of need. It is man that starts wars to get what they want. When Jesus returns to stop the destruction of humanity, there will not be any more wars.

Answer 10

I don't know the exact number...I know there was major conflict between Irish Catholics and Protestants and its still goes on but actuall wars...most of them are caused by politics and changing leadership as one power tries to overcome another. Some occur over resources, trade disagreements and economic disputes. The worst ones occur over ethnic cleansing such as WWII and even now...the Sudanese/Darfurian refugee camps in Chad. So...I would like to know the answer to that myself. Love in Christ, ~J~

Answer 11

all of the wars r caused by difference of religions between nations.
do u know about the european campain which started in 1798 on Arab world ?it started with Naplion Bonabert the french leader,that campain was lead by religious leaders from all europe.
also wars all over the world,war on and in iraq (sunnah and shee'a).