Religion Causes War

Through much of my life I was forced to sit through a history class. In these classes I learned about many cultures, religious, and Wars. The alarming conclusion I’ve come to is that religion is the primary cause of war. The crusades, the Iraq war of present day; and the influence of the different religious ideology that resulted in the herding of native Americans, the anti-semantic Nazi movement that grew into the holocaust, and the current tensions in the middle east that branch off into such acts as the September 11^th attacks, the suicide bombings that occur frequently across the world. I would like you, the reader, to realize, I am a proponent of the beliefs in God, only an opponent of the religious customs and teachings that separate religions who read and believe in the same god and holy book. In short, haw the hell can a Baptist and catholic believe in Jesus, read the bible, be so different? Why are both the Jews and Muslims, who both read very similar holy books and believe in the same god, mortal enemies? The answer? religious teachings not directly obtained from holy books but instead interpreted from various excerpts forged and fashioned into bogus meanings. I believe that religion causes war.

             In 1093 A.D. the ruler of the Byzantine empire, Alexius Commenus, wrote a letter to the Count of Flanders telling him of atrocities committed by the Turks to the Christians. The count then gave this message to pope Urban II. The pope, seeing this as an easy way to solve some of his problems, used this as an easy way to solve some of his problems, used this as an excuse to "reclaim the holy lands" from the Turks. Shortly there after (1096) the first crusades began. Given this summary of the war, one could easily grasp how religious leaders could manipulate their followers into a war that actually had nothing to do with their God. You don’t conquer a countries, force a religion on a people, and lead thousands to their deaths Solly because the rumor of atrocities and a hunger for expansion. More so, it is immoral to use a belief as powerful as the belief people have in God to begin a war and label it as one to reclaim holy lands. The crusades are just one of many occasions in which a religious belief was skewed to lead people into a war.

            Another such instance would be the Iraq war that we are in today. The Iraq war isn’t a blatant use of religion, it’s much more subtle. We, the American people were attacked by a radical group of Muslims who believe that we are barbaric. Their reasons for this were religion based.  We, the US, broadcast obscene music videos, promote gay rights, and allow woman to come out in public, wear what they would like to, and exercise voting rights. On the other side, we, the American people, view them as uncivilized cavemen, heathens, and animalistic. We make fun of their religious customs (turbans, beards, praying rugs...ect). We feel hostile towards them. We stereo type every middle easterner as Muslim, freedom hating, and supporters/followers of the terrorist cause... even the convenience store employees we’ve known for 9 years. The Iraq war isn’t about  freedom, 9/11, or voting rights. It may have started because of oil or financial opportunity, but the war and fear continues because of religious tensions. Simply put, the Iraq war and the tensions in the middle east will never end. It has ben going on since Kane killed Able and will continue until Jesus comes back. People fight and die for their religions not their god, but their religion. The Christian and Muslim God’s are the same. Only the customs and way of worship are different. Religion is the heart of this never ending conflict. Which brings me to an assortment of other acts of religious warfare.

          One more such movement or act of violence took place in Europe during WWII. The Holocaust was an act of extreme anti-Semitism in which Jews were imprisoned and systematically killed Solly because of their religion. Another act was the trail of tears, when thousands of Native Americans were moved to Oklahoma. This was only after being murdered, converted to Christianity, or raped. Such acts were in large part due to the view that Native American customs and religious were barbaric or uncivilized. Another such example is easily found throughout the old testament of the bible. Every war in those books was a religious war.

               In my opinion every war is somehow religion based. Religion and religious teachings are often manipulated to stir up tensions. The craziest thing about it is that all of the Gods in all of the Religion teach peace and harmony. They all teach love and compassion. That’s why I stated that Religion cause wars not Gods. I love God, I have a tattoo of Jesus on my arm. I have nothing against Jesus, Buddha, Allah, the torah or the Koran. What I have a problem with are the misconceptions, and leaders that tell people to believe fabricated lies. Some say money is the root of all evil, I disagree, Religion is the root of all evil.