Religion & War

[Hecktix]

I'm doing a mini-dissertation on Religion & War.
I like to include different people's opinions in my work as one person can always miss things.

So anybody got any interesting opinions?
Anybody here religious? - What are your attitudes?
Atheists - What are your opinions on how Religion & War are related.

Anything else?

+rep to decent responses.

[lick]

No religion = no war IMO

But i'm cathloic, but dont go to chruch and all that lol

[mangle]

No religion = no war IMO

Countries go to war on things that are not only to do with religion buddy

[Hecktix]

How do you think Religion is related to wars such as the Gulf (1&2), both World Wars?

[ifuseekamy]

No religion = no war IMO
Religion is an excuse not a reason for most wars. George Bush sent troops to iraq for oil not because he actually thought it was a mission from god. It makes a hypocritical crime sound noble.

[MrGazet]

I'm not religious..but still I practise a bit..
i dnt think nowadays wars have got to do with religions.well i think the older days like thousand years ago.people defending their religion with wars.don't really know bout this stuff

[RedStratocas]

its a pretty broad statement, but if it were not for religion there would be at least a hell of a lot less war.


I'm not religious..but still I practise a bit..
i dnt think nowadays wars have got to do with religions.well i think the older days like thousand years ago.people defending their religion with wars.don't really know bout this stuff

wars today have just as much if not more to do with religion than they ever did before. the middle east situation? terrorists aren't attacking soldiers in iraq because "they hate freedom," they do it because we are intruding on their holy land. and what about world war 2? MILLIONS of people were killed simply because they were jewish. hell, ANY conflict involving isreal it seems has something to do with religion. then look at any war in africa, they all have to do with tribe/religious differences.

[Mentor]

Religion is at least a common excuse and a great motivator for wars. The majorty of conflicts even today are motivated primary by religion "/

Thats not to say its the own reason, people will fight over land, ideolgy and plenty of other things. The difference is these wars last a few years and have victors. When religion gets involved conflicts escalate from years to centuries. Equally with religion involved far worse crimes against humanity can be justifed, which generally leads to geniside and other war crimes being committed.

Steven Weinberg's - "Without [religion], you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, it takes religion."

On the flip side, since your doing a project, if you havent come accross it the christian concept of a "just" war may be of use?
:)

[FlyingJesus]

its a pretty broad statement, but if it were not for religion there would be at least a hell of a lot less war.

I'd disagree, if people want to fight there is always something to fight about. Thinking about it, religion and religious differences are just changes in how people think of morality and the world - if there was no such thing as formalised religion we'd still fight over who has the best ideas and lifestyles. It happens to a small degree even in schools where people of different subcultures dislike each other just for not being like them, and religion is really just this on a large scale.


Steven Weinberg's - "Without [religion], you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, it takes religion."

Again, I'd disagree with this as religion is being used as a show of all lifestyles. Without religion we'd still have morality and sometimes a clash of morality (albeit in good faith) does make it appear that good people are doing the wrong thing.

I'm not going to argue with anyone that religion hasn't been a massive factor in wars throughout human existence, but in the absence of it I don't think we as a species would have seen any less conflict.

[Misawa]

War isn't always about religion, it's mostly been about politics and greed. Wars of recent years have indeed been centred around religious fanatics and the indoctrinated, but without religion there would still be war and violence and tyranny, just obviously not as much.

[Mentor]

Again, I'd disagree with this as religion is being used as a show of all lifestyles. Without religion we'd still have morality and sometimes a clash of morality (albeit in good faith) does make it appear that good people are doing the wrong thing.
I think you misunderstood stand the quote, evil within the quite is not what one side considers right and the other wrong, for example as you see with issues such as abortion, but instead actions both sides morality think are wrong. Religion allows people a get out clause for committing an act they themselves would otherwize know to be wrong, murder after all is wrong in most religions, yet people will happily go on a killing spree on the belief god wanted them to do it. The belief in god in no way is providing them with a morality that says killing is fine, religion simply features the ability to override morality by attributing it to a higher power.
Hence when he mentions good people doing evil things, he refers to people committing acts they know themselves to be wrong, justifying it on the basis of a "god" commanding them to do so.

Religion allows people to ignore there own morality, without religion and a god though, where people are accountable to themselves rather than a higher power, going against your morality is far harder to justify.

In reference to you last point, statistically the higher the atheistic population of a country the lower the homo side rate and amount of conflicts it engages in. (if you not come accross it ill spend a few mins looking it up if you like :) )

[Misawa]

I think you misunderstood stand the quote, evil within the quite is not what one side considers right and the other wrong, for example as you see with issues such as abortion, but instead actions both sides morality think are wrong. Religion allows people a get out clause for committing an act they themselves would otherwize know to be wrong, murder after all is wrong in most religions, yet people will happily go on a killing spree on the belief god wanted them to do it. The belief in god in no way is providing them with a morality that says killing is fine, religion simply features the ability to override morality by attributing it to a higher power.
Hence when he mentions good people doing evil things, he refers to people committing acts they know themselves to be wrong, justifying it on the basis of a "god" commanding them to do so.

Religion allows people to ignore there own morality, without religion and a god though, where people are accountable to themselves rather than a higher power, going against your morality is far harder to justify.

In reference to you last point, statistically the higher the atheistic population of a country the lower the homo side rate and amount of conflicts it engages in. (if you not come accross it ill spend a few mins looking it up if you like :) )

Racial murders are commonplace, unfortunately, but there is no way that the figure of racial homicides would outdo the number of murders committed for whatever other reason that is not racially motivated, so I really don't see how the statistic could hold any weight given the massive difference in scale between racial and non-racial killings.

[Mentor]

Racial murders are commonplace, unfortunately, but there is no way that the figure of racial homicides would outdo the number of murders committed for whatever other reason that is not racially motivated, so I really don't see how the statistic could hold any weight given the massive difference in scale between racial and non-racial killings.
Well there is a pretty large link to be seen between religion and racial killing? Groups such the KKK for example are religiously motivated and played a significant part in the history of racially motivated crime. Equally without the constant oking from religious doctrine, its quite possible the whole slavery concept wouldn't have lasted as long as it did.
Additionally religiously motived killings far out number racial motivated ones as soon as you start looking at global statistics, especially in a historical context

[Cypher-]

Theres a simple formula for the two of them.

Religion is fuelled by power which is the result of war and war is the product of greed fuelled by the need for money.