{"id":942,"date":"2017-08-14T13:36:34","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T11:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beniuk.gr5.pl\/apologetyka2\/?p=942"},"modified":"2017-08-14T13:36:34","modified_gmt":"2017-08-14T11:36:34","slug":"the-myth-that-religion-is-the-1-cause-of-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beniuk.gr5.pl\/apologetyka2\/the-myth-that-religion-is-the-1-cause-of-war\/","title":{"rendered":"The Myth that Religion is the #1 Cause of War"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nby Robin Schumacher<\/span><\/a>
\nedited by Matt Slick<\/a>
\n4\/22\/2012
\nAtheists and secular humanists consistently make the claim that religion is the #1 cause of violence and war throughout the history of mankind. One of hatetheism’s key cheerleaders, Sam Harris, says in his book The End of Faith<\/em> that faith and religion are \u201cthe most prolific source of violence in our history.\u201d1<\/a>
\nWhile there\u2019s no denying that campaigns such as the Crusades and the Thirty Years\u2019 War foundationally rested on religious ideology, it is simply incorrect to assert that religion has been the primary cause of war. Moreover, although there\u2019s also no disagreement that radical Islam was the spirit behind 9\/11, it is a fallacy to say that all faiths contribute equally where religiously-motivated violence and warfare are concerned.
\nAn interesting source of truth on the matter is Philip and Axelrod\u2019s three-volume Encyclopedia of Wars<\/em>, which chronicles some 1,763 wars that have been waged over the course of human history. Of those wars, the authors categorize 123 as being religious in nature,2<\/a> which is an astonishingly low 6.98% of all wars. However, when one subtracts out those waged in the name of Islam (66), the percentage is cut by more than half to 3.23%.
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\nThat means that all faiths combined \u2013 minus Islam \u2013 have caused less than 4% of all of humanity\u2019s wars and violent conflicts. Further, they played no motivating role in the major wars that have resulted in the most loss of life.
\nKind of puts a serious dent into Harris\u2019 argument, doesn\u2019t it?
\nThe truth is, non-religious motivations and naturalistic philosophies bear the blame for nearly all of humankind\u2019s wars. Lives lost during religious conflict pales in comparison to those experienced during the regimes who wanted nothing to do with the idea of God \u2013 something showcased in R. J. Rummel\u2019s work Lethal Politics and Death by Government<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Non-Religious Dictator Lives Lost<\/h3>\n