A lot of posters on this board have expressed the opinion that religion is the reason for many wars. Some have even implied that if religion was "banned" the number of wars would be reduced.
Is religion the real reason for many wars?
by Pole 39 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Pole
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TheEdge
Toughie. I think a LOT of Wars are over religious beliefs - and the Bible supports this as Wars have been going on since Adam was a lad (to coin a phrase) with God's backing. I assume the same in all religions, that Holy men have condoned and encouraged War as a way of ensuring their belief survives and increases.
Theoretically, the number of wars SHOULD reduce if religion was banned, but the fanatics always survive, and they're the danger.
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Fe2O3Girl
No, I don't think religion is the underlying cause of the majority of wars. I think that the causes include conflicts of interests over land boundaries and resources, and fear and distrust of different cultures that leads to tyranny and inevitable backlash.
These causes can however be exacerbated by religion, and religon can provide a useful banner to rally the troops.
But the notion that the death toll over the decades in Northern Ireland, for instance, is over the authority of the Pope, or transubstantiation, is ridiculous.
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ballistic
I think religion forms part of the equation along with racism, paranoia, greed, distrust, ideology, meglamania. I definately believe if we forced our leaders to smoke dope we would save a lot of lives.
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gaiagirl
In the Bible account, many of the wars mentioned were at least justified on religious grounds. The actual reason for a war may be something basic such as resources (someone elses land, or perhaps their petroleum). However, it is easier to muster support for a war if the "other side" is dehumanized in some manner, and a religious difference has been found to work very well. In the Bible accounts, when the nation of Israel was invading Canaan, the basic premise was that "God favors US, and has given this land to US. All you other people worship false gods, so we are going to kill you and take your land." During WWII, the Japanese were often described as "godless", and caricatured in the press as little people with thick glasses and protuding teeth (still, no uglier than Popeye, but he was at least a patriotic American). Today, Saturday Night Live frequently portrays terrorists as bearded men wearing turbans and living in caves. After the terrorism thing winds down, I'm interested to see who the next "enemies" will be.
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Pole
Good point everyone. I generally agree with most of you. It's amazing how many people fail to see that religion is primarily a tool in warfare. It rarely is the real undelying reason for conflicts. Oftentimes people are manipulated to believe that they're dying for a religious cause, but their beliefs are only used to raise their morale and fuel their hatred which was first ignited by a more mudane reason (land resources, political injustice, etc.). I'm sure blind nationalism can play and it does play a similar role in many armies. The misunderstanding is largely due to the picture we get from the media of religious fanatics swearing to kill their enemies in the name of God.
As Fe2O3Girl points out, even the most stupid religious fanatic is too rational to kill and die for transubstantiation if there aren't any other non-religious reasons. LOL.
Speaking of the Japanese.... I think the best example of how religion is used in warfare is the Kamikaze "religion" which was adopted by the Japanese military for military/political purposes. The Kamikaze pilots believed there's a religious significance to dying for the Emperor, but one can hardly claim their religious beliefs were the reason for the war.
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czarofmischief
If you define religion as a system of belief based on faith. And if you define faith as belief in a predicted outcome (such as a prophecy). Then you can include Communism as a religion - and most of the wars between 1945 and 1991 revolved around this religion in one fashion or another.
Religion is part tool, part cause.
I tend to think it is economic reasons that start most wars, though. Religion just defines the enemy.
CZAR
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new light
I would say religion is used as a fuel for wars, a way to rally the troops under a higher calling than simple nationality, and another way to broadly categorize the enemy as different. Even wars that were overtly religious, like the Crusades, were really about extending an empire, with religion revving the soldiers up to the point of mass murdering. IMO, religion is almost never the real reason for wars, but without it there would be a lot less destruction.
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czarofmischief
Even wars that were overtly religious, like the Crusades, were really about extending an empire, with religion revving the soldiers up to the point of mass murdering.
Mm... no, the Crusades were a response to the Islamic incursions of previous centuries, really. Going on the offensive in a war that had been raging for centuries. The Moors in Spain, the Saracens in Italy and Sicily, and the Turks at the borders of Constantinople. Europe had to respond, and the Pope was the only one with the authority to create an organized response like that.
CZAR
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new light
Won't argue you on that one, since you obviously know a lot more than me on the subject, but it was still a war fueled by religious fervor, making me only a partial moron.