Is Religion REALLY the Number One Cause of War? The assumption that religion is at the root of most of the major conflicts in human history seems to be ingrained in our society.
But is this assumption correct? How can a Christian respond to it? Just the Facts According to the Encyclopedia of Wars (Phillips and Axelrod), of the 1,763 major conflicts in recorded history, only 123 of them can be classified as having been fought over religious differences. That’s less than 7 percent. The encyclopedia also explains that the number of people killed in these conflicts amounts to only two percent. What are most wars fought over? My friend and colleague Jimmy Akin explains this best: Religion is a powerful motivator, and thus is often invoked in wartime, but the real reasons most wars have been fought have nothing to do with it. Think of the modern wars you learned about in school.
Some commentators claim that religion as a reason for war has decreased due to the increasing secularization of Western society. Religion is not main cause of war, research suggests. REUTERS/Larry Downing Religion is not the main cause of war, according to a new report.
Instead, war is caused by clashes between different groups, bad government, high levels of corruption and poor relations with neighbouring countries. Although religion is often cited anecdotally as a root of conflict, little empirical research has been done on the link. According to a paper by the Tony Blair Foundation on an analysis by the Institute for Economics and Peace, corruption, political terror, gender, economic inequality and political instability are the main causes of conflict. "Statistically speaking religion has only limited explanatory power for outbreaks of violence," the paper says. The foundation notes that countries where Sunni and Shia Muslims live side-by-side such as Qatar and Kuwait are relatively peaceful. The institute found that countries with greater religious freedoms are generally more peaceful, whereas countries with less religious freedom are generally less peaceful. Religion is not main cause of war, research suggests.
Does Religion Cause War? - Truths You Can Use. Courtesy of the New York Times.
Deadly images on television tear at our heart. We wish for the violence in Israel to end. This land, sacred to three global religions, seems endlessly mired in conflict. Does religion just promote division or hatred? Is it because of its religious significance that Israel remains a place of tension? Advertisement If we listen to most voices in the media and pop culture, we would answer this question without hesitation.
Doesn't religion cause most of the conflict in the world? Rachel Woodlock (Islam) Religion is powerfully motivating and belligerent humans fight over it.
Heck, religion has caused conflict even in my diverse and tolerant family. Taking our daughter to visit her Irish-Catholic relatives, I asked my husband to make sure they didn't give her any pork. Like Jews, Muslims steer clear of anything with an oink. Does Religion Cause War? - Questions & Answers. Question: If believing in a god or gods is good, then why is so much pain and suffering caused by religion--like the crusades, suicide bombings, etc., etc?
Answer: This is a question we hear very often, and there are a number of ways of approaching the issue. I'd like to try a scientific approach. The position is that religion causes war. If we wanted to test the alcohol/inebriation or sun/growth hypotheses scientifically, what would we do? With the religion/war hypothesis, we don't have to actually make a clinical study--it's already been done for us. As scientists, we are forced to develop an alternative hypothesis: There is another common factor to war, much more common than religion--and that is that they are fought by human beings. I can't speak on behalf of other religions, but I can tell you that many of the great prophets of Judaism spoke of the value of peace even in a time when war was the accepted state of affairs. Does Religion Really Cause War - And Do Atheists Have Something To Answer For?
Throughout November, The Huffington Post UK is featuring its Beyond Belief series, chronicling the remarkable lives of Britons who've taken on their faith to create a force for change.
It is the most common comeback from atheists to people of faith: religion is the main cause of wars. Without faith, many say, there would have been no 9/11 attacks, no Israeli-Palestinian conflict, no Troubles in Northern Ireland, no violent disputes over words in holy texts - even no Islamic State. Richard Dawkins, Britain’s best-known atheist, has argued that religion has been the main cause of violence and war throughout history. He wrote in his 2013 autobiography that “religion is the principal label, and the most dangerous one, by which a ‘they’, as opposed to a 'we' can be identified.
" Dawkins has said that if religion were somehow abolished, there would be "a much better chance of no more war". Islamist group Al-Qaeda attacked the World Trade Center in New York on 11 September 2001.