Most, if not all religions are peaceful. Think of religious wars as fights between political parties, only on a much larger scale. Different religions just have different viewpoints, which they believe is the only viewpoint.

Yes. And RELIGIOUS wars unfortunately are not limited to the distant past. They have occurred in modern times. One needs only read the news reports about “battles that have been faught between Catholics and Protestants” in Ireland. Hundreds died in the fighting there, and many hundreds more have been hurt. One report said: “Gutted shops, shattered windows, bomb-damage sales, broken wooden mannequins at locked store entrances—all are sad, grotesque reminders of the worsening urban war between Protestants and Roman Catholics.” But what about crusades or “holy wars”? Surely religion has not backed wars today as it did the Crusades, you may think. But it has. Church leaders themselves admit this. For example, in July 1969 a terrible war broke out between El Salvador and Honduras. According to one encyclopedia’s yearbook: “The conflict quickly brought death and human tragedy on a scale rarely known in Salvadoran history.2 Who was responsible for this war? Honduras’ bishop Jose Carranza accused the Catholic clergy of El Salvador of fomenting it by their writings, speeches and attitude. He said that they called it a “holy war,” and urged Catholics to fight. It is a fact, religion in recent times has differed little from the Middle Ages when clergymen urged their congregations ‘to go forth and kill the infidels.’ The respected church historian Roland H. Bainton, for example, observed: “The churches in the United States particularly took a crusading attitude toward the First World War.” World War I—A “Holy War”? Obviously the first world war had causes quite different from those of the “holy wars” of centuries ago. The church directly sponsored the crusades to recover the “holy land.” On the other hand, World War I had primarily political causes. Yet the role of religion in this modern war was remarkably similar to that played by religion in the earlier “holy wars.” Commenting on this, the Chairman of the Faculty of Religion at Claremont Graduate School, Joseph C. Hough, pointed to the example of the bishop of London, A. F. Winnington-Ingram. This bishop urged the English people: “Kill Germans—do kill them; not for the sake of killing, but to save the world, to kill the good as well as the bad, to kill the young as well as the old, to kill those who have shown kindness to our wounded as well as those fiends . . . As I have said a thousand times, I look upon it as a war for purity, I look upon everyone who died in it as a martyr.” And what were they doing on the other side? The archbishop of Cologne, Germany, said the following to German soldiers: “Beloved people of our Fatherland, God is with us in this fight for righteousness where we have been drawn in against our wish. We command you in the name of God, to fight to the last drop of your blood for the honor and glory of the country. In his wisdom and justice, God knows that we are on the side of righteousness and he will give us the victory.”56 Such words are reminiscent of Pope Urban’s appeal, “Go and fight against the barbarians,” which launched the Crusades. Yet the words of the bishop of London and the archbishop of Cologne are not unusual. Rather, they are typical of the spirit that prevailed in the churches on both sides during World War I. Professor Bainton said of the churches in America: “American churchmen of all faiths were never so united with each other and with the mind of the country. This was a holy war. Jesus was dressed in khaki and portrayed sighting down a gun barrel. The Germans were Huns. To kill them was to purge the earth of monsters.” This is not an exaggerated description of the attitude of the clergy. An editorial in Fortune magazine observed: “Such hatred for the enemy as there was in the front lines produced no oratory to compare with the invectives hurled against Germany by the men of Christ.” Ray H. Abrams wrote a book, Preachers Present Arms, in which an entire chapter entitled “The Holy War” is devoted to the clergy’s whole-souled endorsement of the war. For example, Randolph H. McKim exclaimed from his pulpit in Washington: “It is God who has summoned us to this war. It is his war we are fighting. . . . This conflict is indeed a crusade. The greatest in history—the holiest. It is in the profoundest and truest sense a Holy War. . . . Yes, it is Christ, the King of Righteousness, who calls us to grapple in deadly strife with this unholy and blasphemous power [Germany].” Also, Albert C. Dieffenbach, editor of The Christian Register, wrote in an editorial: “As Christians, of course, we say Christ approves [of the war]. But would he fight and kill? . . . There is not an opportunity to deal death to the enemy that he would shirk from or delay in seizing! He would take bayonet and grenade and bomb and rifle and do the work of deadliness against that which is the most deadly enemy of his Father’s kingdom in a thousand years.”60 Do those expressions sound shocking to you? Yet, this is what many clergymen and religious publications were saying during World War I. Few religious leaders on either side were opposed to the fighting and killing. R. H. Abrams said he was unable to locate a single priest who was against the war. You can understand, therefore, why British Brigadier General Frank P. Crozier said: “The Christian Churches are the finest blood-lust creators which we have, and of them we made free use." However, what would have happened if the churches in the warring nations had successfully taught their members that it was wrong to kill their fellowman, especially fellow Christians? Since the peoples in those nations were practically all professing Christians, the war would have been impossible to carry on! Commenting on this matter, a prominent rabbi at the time, Stephen S. Wise, said: “Failure of the churches and synagogues to maintain leadership over the people was the cause of the present war.” The churches, as is typical of them, failed to give the people guidance that would lead them from participation in the war. Was it any different during World War II? It is said of the eminent Protestant theologian Reinhold Niebuhr: “He led many American Christians from pacifism to an acceptance of the moral necessity of fighting Hitler in the Second World War.” The modern historian A. P. Stokes said: “The Churches as a whole threw themselves heartily not only into matters of war relief . . . but into the more vigorous support of the War. Some went so far as to call it a religious war.” In France and England, too, churches rallied to the support of the national cause. For example, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cambrai called France’s fight a “war in defense of civilization, of the law of nations, human morality, liberty, in short, of humanity.” Clearly the churches were leading their peoples to the battlefield against Germany. But what about the churches in Germany? Did they support Adolf Hitler? Did they back his war aims? Backing Hitler In 1933 a concordat between Germany and the Vatican was signed. Article 16 of the concordat stipulated that each bishop of the Catholic Church, before taking office, must take an “oath of loyalty” to the Nazi regime. And Article 30 required that a prayer be said “for the welfare of the German Reich and its people” after every High Mass. In 1936, when reports were circulated that Catholics were opposed to Hitler’s regime, Cardinal Faulhaber said in a sermon on June 7: “You all are witnesses for the fact that on all Sundays and holidays at the main service we pray in all churches for the Führer as we have promised in the Concordat. . . . We feel offended on account of this questioning of our loyalty to the state.” So where were the churches leading the German people? The Roman Catholic Professor of History at Vienna University, Friedrich Heer, explains: “In the cold facts of German history, the Cross and the swastika came ever closer together, until the swastika proclaimed the message of victory from the towers of German cathedrals, swastika flags appeared round altars and Catholic and Protestant theologians, pastors, churchmen and statesmen welcomed the alliance with Hitler.” On September 17, 1939, over two weeks after Germany invaded Poland, the German bishops issued a joint pastoral letter in which they said: “In this decisive hour we admonish our Catholic soldiers to do their duty in obedience to the Führer and be ready to sacrifice their whole individuality. We appeal to the faithful to join in ardent prayers that the Divine Providence of God Almighty may lead this war to blessed success and peace for our fatherland and nation.” In the summer of 1940 Catholic bishop Franz Josef Rarkowski said: “The German Volk [People] . . . has an untroubled conscience . . . It knows that it is fighting a just war, one born of the necessity of a people’s self-preservation.”70 The New York Times in 1939 noted: “Periodicals of the German Protestant and Catholic Churches are now publishing many exhort[at]ive articles explaining the duties of soldiers fighting in the defense of their country and admonishing the German soldiers to fight in the spirit of Saint Michael for a German victory and a just peace.” Is it not apparent where the churches were leading the German people? Professor Gordon Zahn wrote: “The German Catholic who looked to his religious superiors for spiritual guidance and direction regarding service in Hitler’s wars received virtually the same answers he would have received from the Nazi ruler himself.” The religious guidance given is evidenced by the total support of the war by church members. Professor Heer explained: “Of about thirty-two million German Catholics—fifteen and a half million of whom were men—only seven openly refused military service. Six of these were Austrians.” The situation was the same with German Protestants. So in each country the churches led their members into the war. Catholics slaughtered Catholics on the battlefields. Protestants killed Protestants. And church leaders on both sides prayed to God for victory! How dishonoring to God it was to link his name with such horrible deeds! Certainly the Bible words are well applied to the churches: “They publicly declare they know God, but they disown him by their works, because they are detestable and disobedient and not approved for good work of any sort.”—Titus 1:16. Religion and Revolution Church leaders back not only wars between nations, but revolutions within nations as well. In 1937 Spanish Catholics were urged by many of their clergy to support the movimiento of General Franco against the Second Spanish Republic. Now, however, bishops and priests, displeased with the Franco regime, recently asked “pardon” for the Church’s backing of his movimiento. Regarding present views, Lutheran theologian Karoly Pröhle summarized: “We thus find a notable consensus among theologians concerning the fact that it is possible for Christians to participate in a revolution.”75 Roman Catholic bishops in Britain recently said: “It will not do merely to condemn the use of violence against authority since evidently those in authority may be guilty of worse violence.”76 Is it surprising, then, that church members today take part in political revolutions? Observed George Celestin, instructor in theology at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas: “Christians are becoming determined to change unjust structures as quickly as possible. This will mean in some cases that the churches may have to preach violence.” Thus, the record of world religion in regard to war and violence is clear, and it is ghastly. World religion stands condemned as bearing the main guilt, as Revelation 18:24 says, for “the blood of . . . all those who have been slaughtered on the earth.” On the other hand, Jehovah's Witnesses have consistently refused to fight and kill in any war in any country, and they have been willing to suffer horribly for their stand. This fact is well documented in Hitler's Germany and other countries. I know of no other religious organization that can say the same. If you do, I would like to hear from you. VEW

It sure does seem that way and each side looks to god to help them kill eachother.

Don't fall for the Atheist lie. More lives have been taken by godless communism than by ALL wars, whether related to a religion or not. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democide http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/20TH.HTM

no i do not believe that it causes wars i believe its often uesed as an excuse to start wars (with the crussades possible being the epception to the rule) in my opinion all wars are started because of ambition not because of religion

No. Most wars are and have been economic in nature, although many have hidden behind a facade of religions reasoning.

It often looks like that, but the reality is that wars are almost always started for economic or political reasons. As an example look at Ireland. just about everyone will tell you that is a conflict between Irish Catholics and Protestants; but if you reserch the history a bit you will find some wery different root causes for the conflict. Primarily an obsolete land lease system with absentee british landlords in the agrarean south, and the growth of an industial base in the north employing a great man irish workers (who then were dependent on british investments & goodwill to keep their jobs). The fact that most northerners are protestants, and most southerners are Catholic were incidental. But once fighting have started you need arguments to recruit fighters, and an economic treatise is pretty useless for that, it rarely makes people angry and combative even when they are capable of understanding it. It is much better to speard a story about how those heathen Catholics kill children and sacrifice them to Satan, or about how the apostate Northern protestants sexually molest their own children, etc, etc. That is the sort of thing that can generate outrage (and recruits). It is a lowest common denominator that even the dumbest can understand, it is efficient, it works. So it got used, and as time passed everyone gradually forgot the real reasons for the conflict and started to believe it was a religious dispute. So I would not blame religion for starting wars. If I were to blame religion it would be for letting itself be misused to keep them going long past the time when the original issues have been long resolved. regards JakobA

I think when addressing a question of this nature, you have to consider that mankind in general is warlike and will pull from an infinite pool of reasons to go to war, be it territorial, religious, economic, etc. So taking this into consideration, one also has to agree that for the most part, people go fight wars, but leades, rulers, elected officials, start wars....so in the end even though many people die in wars, they are actually orchestrated by a few. It would seem the core reason for all wars would be wealth. Be it in land, gold, alliances, power, it's all about boosting the victor's economy and wealth and hopefully expanding the empire, so as to gain more wealth. But, as history shows, having more weapons or more numbers doesn't always guarantee a victory. This is where religion as a catalyst for war comes in handy. Now, I'm not saying religion was created solely to induce war, but it surely is a good tool for many reasons. Fights over religion can never be solved, because even if one side utterly destroys the other, that still doesn't prove their god is the real/only god. So war is a great tool for starting disputes/wars and no one can be proven wrong or right, so there's technically no end to the conflict.....my god is better than your god, will always be a reason to knuckle up. Also, religion relies on people to have blind faith, death itself in the name of god or religion, makes one a martyr basically so not only do people make better soldiers in a religious dispute but they have less fear of dying, because they feel they are doing the work of their god...this makes for better soldiers with better moral and less fear of dying. Another facet of this is a victory in the minds of the religious is a sign that it is indeed their own god that is real, which only enforces their beliefs. Lastly, to actually answer the question DOES religion CAUSE wars? No. Men with power, be it political, religious or military, cause wars...religion just seems to be a good way of rallying troops and getting the job done.

yes i think religion does cause war. Some people may disagree, not saying their wrong or anything but do they really have proof? I sure know that i do. take a religion where your forced to marry in someone with the sane religion. Okay, what happens if you don't want to? well then you rebel. Rebelling causes war and the topic was does religion cause war, so therefor you are rebelling because of religion. Not saying all wars caused of religion are small like this, just naming an example. th

If not for religious reasons, we'd find some other reason to kill each other. Homo Sapiens is a competitive and warlike race. +5