If religion is so great, then why is it associated with so much of violence around the world?

Question

EDIT :

miller

I am a peaceful person and it sounds to me as though you are jumping on the defensive.

Answer 1

This has been said already, but it is a huge barrier in society. It is a barrier between whites and whites;whites and blacks, you can go on forever. There are the Baptists that are so much more correct than the Catholics and the Catholics are more Christ like than the Protestants, once again this goes on forever, that's just Christianity.

Look at how splintered Christianity is alone. Each sect believes they are right, and all have discredited an element of the preceding dominant sect to gain credence. They rally to their cause by teaching how their way is right, and the alternative is wrong. This creates a "us versus them" attitude.

I remember when I was a kid( I was raised to be Catholic), in religion class we were talking about other religions; I noticed my teachers would always point out how the other religion was wrong, they're going to hell and we should feel sorry for them. When I thought of the Jews I would think "what a poor lot, they're sooo wrong, we're right, they're going to hell, we're going to heaven-I felt superior to them, and viewed them as a threat to my well being. I was just a kid.

This is mentality is instilled in countless people across the world, with the same effects on the individual. Very few ever break free from it, leaving a bunch of ego maniacs that view one another as a threat, and this is an ideology that deals with one of the most important questions known to man: what happens after we die? Why are we here? It sparks incredible passion; and as of now, logic/reason cannot properly address this.

I'm glad I graduated 7th grade and became Agnostic, too much hypocrisy, militancy, fakeness for me. Screw all of that, I'd rather be a good person not for rewards after this life, or the threat of eternal damnation; but just because it is the right thing to be/do. Cheers!

Answer 2

Non-religion has proven to be rather violent as well. Just check the victims of Stalin, Hitler (the Holocaust was race based - not religious - you could not escape by converting), Pol Pot, Kim Jung Il, Idi Amin, Mao.

And for the answer that only Christians and Muslims are violent I would have him study Indian/Pakistani history or Hindu/Muslim history within India before absolving all Hindus. To be fair I have no examples of Buddhist or Taoists committing violence in the name of their religion although people of Buddhist or Taoist background have certainly been involved in atrocities as well so their religion doesn't prevent them from violence.

The real problem is that people are violent. Most of the past violence can be attributed to wars and conquest - i.e. the Crusades from both sides. The current Muslim terrorism is particularly troubling because it is motivated by an extreme (and in my opinion wrong) interpretation of Islam.

I am a Christian, but I believe that all religions must be judged by the actions of their adherents. Christianity often has not lived up to its ideals

Answer 3

It causes violence because it preaches violence. Any Christian or Muslim who knows their Holy Book can tell you that. If a person, or a group of people, or an entire population, won't accept your religion being forced upon them, then it's ok to slaughter them in the name of God or Allah. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying to protect their interest, or just doesn't know their religion as well as they think they do.

The Christian and Muslim faiths were both born in a place and time where violence was a perfectly accepted part of society. Husbands beating wives, adults beating children, the rich beating their slaves, the lists go on and on and because of this, it became engrained in our current religious beliefs. Unfortunately, when you become brain-washed by religion you lose sight of the bigger picture in the real world and tend to defend yourself vehemently, regardless of the rights and wrongs of the situation (check the Middle East or Northern Ireland)

Answer 4

What a trivial argument. Look, religion is the easiest method of controlling a people. If you get God involved, no matter what you're doing, it's the right thing to do. God said so, after all. God wants you to invade the middle-east and reclaim Jerusalem for pilgrimages. God wants us to bring his word to the infidels in Africa... it's a tool, a psychological means to get people motivated to do what you want them to do.
Ignorance never hurt anybody on its own, it has to be used as a weapon to be dangerous--and it very often is and to disasterous effect.
So you can blame religion for all of societies woes all you want, and it still will not make it true. Those who used religion for power were never really religious. Religion is for the poor, the infirm, and the weak. It is to make them feel strong, like their life has meaning, or that they're doing the right things. That they can be afforded something much nicer than this pitiful existence they were thrust into.
So the sad sordid fact of the matter is that while religion creates a condition wherein people to be led to slaughter peacefully, it is almost always the un-religious who perpetrate the most crimes in religion's name.

That having been said, I don't think being unreligious will make you such a person. I think people who are honestly unreligious are trustworthy--it's those who use religion as a vehicle, wear the cloth of the Godly and lead men to unspeakable evils that you have to worry about.

Answer 5

Islam has been seen as violent before 9/11. It's just that 9/11 hit American soil and opened Americans' eyes to it. And made people look into it more. Muslims are followers of Islam and believers of the Qura'n. The Qura'n tells them more about killing their enemies (non-Muslims) instead of living thy enemy, as Jesus taught His followers. Not to say that all Muslims today will kill non-Muslims, but we are well aware that the Qura'n demands that the world will become an Islamic world eventually. The only way to have that is to convert non-Muslims or kill them off. The president of Iran is a huge believer in the Islamic world to come into being and he wants to see it during his lifetime. We see prophecies starting to come true. Fighting between Israel and Palestine. Sunni and Shiites, The Middle East prophecies are starting and Muslims reign over the Middle East. So why wouldn't we see Islam as violent?

Answer 6

"The Jedi are extinct. Their fire has gone out of the universe. You, my friend, are all that remains of their religion." - Grand Moff Tarkin

"the ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force" - Darth Vader



Anyway. Each human has his/her own religion, anything that a human do is always associated with his/her religion.


As for associating monotheism with many violences around the world.

Well, first we got to ask, who are the ones associating monotheism with many violence around the world? Since most of the people around the world surely don't associate that way, they're monotheists and they're quite peaceful.

Answer 7

Good question. I'm not really all that religious of a person, but I'm not against it. I believe that religion truly does help people, but I'll admit that it does cause a lot of violence. Some people take it too far. But who needs religion when there's Linux?

Answer 8

Religion is a set of beliefs that if you live by these beliefs you will be blessed and enter into that religions form of heaven...And sometimes the ones that are very serious about living by their beliefs come into contact with other people with different beliefs that contradict their religion..well it causes problems..and sometimes one religions prophet claimed land for his holy spot and sometimes that holy spot was also claimed by another religions prophet..Thus the fighting by all the stupid little children I call the human race..Its funny to me..THERE IS NO WAY AN ALL POWERFUL ALL KNOWING GOD would create such stupid little animals UNLESS He had one of those sense of humors that likes laughing at stupid people..

Answer 9

Religion is terrible -- and no-one hates it more than God.
He hates people thinking that doing certain things in a certain way a certain number of times a day/week/month/year/lifetime, will get them to heaven. He says the ONLY way to get to heaven is through believing (i.e. FAITH) in the Deity, life, atonong death and resurrection of the the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16-18; John 14:6; et al).

May God bless all who truly seek Him.

Answer 10

Humans are destructive
whether its domestic violence, booze teenagers' football hooligans' hoodies that cause mayhem in our towns
Prisons have lots of violent inmates,
Read the papers there are lots of murders'
What I am trying to say is' man is violent' not religion or God