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Religion as a cause of war
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Religion has its shares of promoting violence. Many will argue that a cause of religion wars is for economic and political reasons, but others argue that those who start wars are, by definition, not religious. In reality, separating religion out of economic and political motives can be involved in such a way finding religious motives innocent of much. Excuses for Christianity responsibilities cannot be accepted whether the person has misappropriated the message of Christ. The primarily set of doctrines is not Christianity, but by living through past background it personified the visible actions of Christians. In other words, Christianity, Islam or any other religion has no intention of excusing from survey. Given certain conditions, Christianity, Islam or any other religion can and do cause war.
Charles Kimball’s book When Religion Becomes Evil states, “It is somewhat trite, but nevertheless sadly true, to say that more wars have people killed, and these days more evil perpetrated in the name of religion than by any other institutional force in human history.” (Kimball 1). According to Kimball, an assurance to rite for needing proving, for no evidence support attempted. If one challenges to prove it, one will need recognizable evidence from other institutional forces over the course of study with a concept of religion.
Before the modern era, there was a problem with religion being distinct from governmental institutions. In Wilfred Cantwell Smith book, The Meaning and End of Religion, Smith suggests people need to investigate their custom, because giving religious names fixes people’s mind to not question the religion about acts of violence. According to Smith, there was no significant concept in premodern Europe alternative t...
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...n can and do cause war because different backgrounds like nationalism and liberalism mixes up beliefs persuading its followers to think war is the answer to their problems. Religious violence should not be in the same category as secular violence simply because it can mislead followers; therefore, it should be avoided altogether.
Works Cited
Charles Kimball, When Religion Becomes Evil (HarperSanFrancisco, 2002), pg.1, 15, 38
Wilfred Cantwell Smith, The Meaning and End of Religion (Macmillan, 1962), pg.19
Martin Marty, with Jonathan Moore, Politics, Religion, and the Common Good: Advancing a Distinctly American Conversation About Religion's Role in Our Shared Life (Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2000), 25-26, 10-14, 24.
Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence (University of California Press, 2000), 146, 153, 154, 217.
I like that Moore is not hesitant to express thoughtful criticisms about the pretensions of the church and the undemocratic ways that Protestants have sometimes attempted to dominate American society. His commentary stimulates constructive discussions about what should and should not be the proper role of Christianity, especially Protestantism, in a religiously pluralistic culture that has constitutional guarantees for religious freedom and the separation of church and state.
Generally, war results from arguments between nations over things like land, power, money, or religion. War over religion contradicts religion itself. In the passage titled “On War”, James Boswell states, “That amiable religion which “proclaims peace on earth,” hath not as yet made war to cease.” If religion proclaims peace on earth, then war goes against those morals.
Lampman, Jane. Christian Science Monitor. “New scrutiny of role of religion in Bush’s Policies”. March 17, 2003.
Religion is an institution that can provide stability for societies through various religious concepts, and is substantial for the support of social cohesion and order. Many functionalist theories of religion, for example, claim that religion functions in such a way as to integrate societies (McCauley, 1984). There are many types of religion that people practice world-wide such as Christianity, Catholi...
Slezak, P. "Gods of the State: Atheism, Enlightenment and Barbarity." Politics and Religion in the New Century: Philosophical Reflections (2009): 20. Web. 20 Oct. 2012.
Nelson, Jack. Is religion killing us?violence in the Bible and the Quran / Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer.. 2003 Print.
What has caused the most war, pain, and strife in the world? Religion. What has taught people to be kind, to love, to help one another? Religion. It has cowed many into worship and coaxed many into prayer. For some their entire world and existence is based on the principle that religion shall determine their next life, or lives, whether that be the afterlife or the next life on earth. That principle, in positive instances, has lead many into a life free of conflict, free of poor decisions, and free of unjust actions against others. In negative instances, it has been used as a basis for determining who is fit to live or to control entire populations of people. Besides these there are millions of examples of how religion has affected lives and how people view religion.
War has always been, and will always be, a necessary action perpetrated by man. There are many reasons for war: rage, passion, greed, defense, and religion to name a few. When differences cannot be solved or compromised through mediation with an opposing party, war is the last remaining option. Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun wrote in fourteenth-century Spain, that “War is a universal and inevitable aspect of life, ordained by God to the same extent as the sky and the earth, the heat and the cold. The question of whether to fright is not a significant moral question because fighting is constant; the minor decision not to fight this war will be made only in the context of knowing that another war will present itself soon enough because it is simply always there.” (Peter S. Themes. The Just War)
Yet this discussion should not end by recalling the broad, if only tacit, role of religion in bringing about violence, but should recall the role of religious faith in promoting love between diverse peoples. Fundamental to the Church’s centuries-old teachings is the importance of humanity’s dignity a sons and daughters of the Creator. Violence, if even in part motivated by religion, contradicts what St. John taught us about God – “God is love” – a divine love that humanity is called to mirror and extend.
Smith explains to us that originally in Europe, religion was understood as the “observance of ritual regulations” (Ward, 2008:10) and later a shift in this understanding occurred where it was understood as being devout and focused on worship. Then, moving into the 17th century, the concept of religion changed yet again and was defined by having a system of doctrines and focused on the idea of having the “correct beliefs” (Ward, 2008:10).
Sometimes, religious discrimination can induce civil wars as well. For example,(The Ecological and Political Impact of Colonialism) This example shows how discrimination led to a civil war.
For thousands of years, religion has exerted a great influence over economic and political life. Even today religion is called upon to support rulers, contacts and other legal procedures.
In conclusion, whether religion does lead to conservatism and violence or people who use religion for personal gains solely depends on how they are taught religion. There are people who are very religious yet they are very modern, such as Sheikh Hamza Yousuf, Dalai Lama or Pope Francis. It all depends on the human psychology and with proper knowledge on the subject, religion can surely exist with science and modernism.
Pullen (2015) stated, “Although anger between radically opposing religion exists, research shows that religion/spirituality actually decreases the incidence of anger.” Religion teaches positive morals and values at a very young age. In the Jewish religion, we are taught the ten commandments which are the ways we should live and worship. That had a positive influence in my life because it was not just my parents saying do not steal; it was more of an community and higher power telling me. I did not steal because I was told not to, I did not steal because I formed my own morals independently but they did influence them. In a differing approach, the radically opposing religions with cultural differences, are perfectly proven with the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Especially recently, with the civilian attacks between Israelis and Palestinians which are a result in cultural conflicts derived from religious conflicts. In this case, the individuals are using religion as moral justification for anger and risky behavior. With the differing of religious and cultural beliefs, the religion was actually part of it and it does not decrease the
For centuries, there’s always been debate of the cause of war and hatred in the world. Some blame human nature, others blame their own existence. Many people blame the government or the economy but those who generate the perspective of those around the globe are lead to blame religion due to the different issues it causes world-wide. Religion should be regulated due to its promotion of unattainable goals, war, hatred, fear, and rendering of scapegoats.