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As OP said it is indisputable that, religion is a major artificial cause of death. More people have
died of religious causes than natural deaths. |
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I'm an independent, fundamental Baptist, and I agree. Religion is a MAJOR reason for war and
general meanness/ badness from one group of people to another.
True Christianity does not compel others at the point of a sword or a prison cell. God does not
want people destroyed because of their unbelief. Yes, there are places in the Old Testament, but
that tends to get into more theological debates than I want to get to here. Jesus Christ came,
fulfilled the law, and instituted grace as the way of salvation. Grace and mercy are the rule for
the day, and anyone who takes to war or violence in the name of Christ has no understanding of
Jesus. |
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I agree the pope sent loads of people to war and this was a war between 2 religions also terrorists
cause war other there religion |
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Religion has caused more deaths than there would have been without religion. |
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More people have died in the name of religion then for an other resone but the fundementel teachings
of a religion are called a faith and have nothing wrong with them. |
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Religion is a major cause not only of death but general strife, corruption, oppression, stupidity,
intolerance, unwanted childbirth, murder, terrorism, disease, confusion, division, hate, love
(unrequited), forced marriage, paedophiles, limb amputation, stonings, hangings, floggings,
beatings, chastisings, and just about every other horrible -ings that you can think of! I fully
understand that many many people are able to practice their religions without resorting to this but
it is outweighed by they multitudes who use religion as a weapon to force their will on those around
them. I do believe in a superior higher power but I am certain that it would not want heinous acts
carried out in the name of religion, |
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While I wouldn’t say that religion “causes” death, zealots of any faith do use their religion
as an excuse to slaughter those with whom they disagree.
I would further amend this to ORGANIZED religion can lead to zealotry and slaughter, not belief in a
Supreme Being proper.
While history abounds in exterminations in the name of deities and doctrine, let me use the New
World as an example.
When the Conquistadores arrived in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in 1519, there were 500,000 Mayans.
In less than 50 years, that figure was 300,000, due to enslavement and overwork, introduction of
disease, and punishment of rebellion.
In my book, genocide is continuing by the Catholics in Latin America -- in the Andes, every
impoverished Indian woman between the ages of 15 and 45 has a baby on her hip and toddlers at her
knee, thanks to the denial of birth control. |
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Monotheistic religions, particularly those emanating from the Middle East, have traditionally been
the source of violence and death. For non-monotheistic religions, this isn't really true. I suppose
that fanaticism is implicit in monotheism. "My god is the only god" is the statement of an
extremist. Polytheism implies choice about whom to worship and therefore tolerance. It's ironic, I
suppose, that the monotheistic religions which introduced the element of moral stricture into their
faith have been the greatest source of immorality historically.
For this reason I think, especially in Europe, that we should abandon the monotheistic fanaticisms
from the Middle East and go back to the worship of the old European gods such as Wotan.
Alternatively, we could embrace reality and become staunch atheists. But for those whose
superstitious impulses need to be indulged in some form, the old polytheistic systems may be the
solution. |
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"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as
useful." - Seneca the Younger |
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Religion kills! |
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As an adopted Jew (people consider me a Christian), I might be expected to say that wars do not
often involve religion. There are many reasons for different conflicts and the major religions'
practicioners have had a bloody history. I know for sure that Crusaders who slaughtered Jews on
their way to slaughtering Muslims did not know Yahshua, the JEWISH messiah who was, of course,
rejected by most Jews. Those people did not obey Yahshua who said to love enemies. Many Catholics
were much like some Muslims in history- they killed those who did not convert. Protestant and
Catholic countries were divided against each other and within themselves and wars "erupted."
Non-religious people have caused deaths, too, but because people have been overwhelmingly religious
since the beginning of our kind, I think the religious have fought in more wars. |
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So many of the worlds wars have been brought about because of religion in one way or another. The
Spanish Inqusition was all about Religion. The annilation of the indigenous peoples on North and
South American Continents and Central America was condoned through the Catholic Church because they
were savages, heathens and sacrificed human life, yet how was the cutting out of a human heart any
different than burning alive at the stake, disembowlment or any of the numerous types of deaths
the Europeans suffered most often order by the Church?
I could go on and on but you catch my drift. |
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Over the course of history religion has caused so mush death and suffering. Desputing religiouns
will always attack each other because they believe the other is wrong. The historic evidence makes
this obvious. Before anyone asks , yes i am an atheist |
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Generally, life causes death. Religion, at least the more fundamentalist religions, tend to cause
it faster however. Liberal religions are usually physically harmless but still cause the same
mental retardation. |
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Religion does not cause death.
Without religion, various evil people would find some other way to manipulate the masses. Religion
is not the cause, it is sometimes a tool, but the cause is usually greed or hate. |
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I wonder if you are actually saying a religion causes death or religious people cause death. Or is
it just belief in God.
What ever you mean I disagree. Greed is what causes the deaths to which you refer. |
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Whilst there are numerous examples of religion being implicated in death, it is the
misinterpretation of religion which causes death-for example Islam, a religion of peace not of
Jihad, whatever extremist actions suggest- this is a misinterpretation of its teachings. |
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Religious intolerance causes death. |
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The Holocaust was performed by an atheist, who used religious propaganda to get the backing of a
society that was extremely religious. Read Hitlers "Mein Kampf".
The Crusades were the unorganized attempts of defense against the Muslim crusades. They did not go
with the purpose of killing and destroying, but of defending. The same way the USA went in to Europe
with their army in WW2.
The War in Iraq is a political struggle caused by political desires for the countries advancement.
Religion cannot be blamed for the actions of a Country, especially when that country believes in the
separation of church and state, and consistently acts upon this belief. If Religion is to be blamed,
then atheism and agnosticism are to be blamed as well, as there are many atheists and agnostics in
the USA, and many in their army.
Finally,
It is not a religion that caused the brutal murders in China under the communist dictatorship of
Mao, nor those of Stalin, nor those of any of the other Communist rulers, who, out of hatred for
religion, killed more people in a couple generations, than any religion institution has killed from
the time of Jesus Christ onward. |
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What were "christian" nations and "Islamic" nations were fighting for centuries before
"Christianity" and "Islam" were born.
Whenever societies attempted to be tolerant towards people of different race and religion it usually
went like this:
Their society began to flourish through the arts and sciences.
Many people from the other cultures rose on the economic ladder while most of the "native" masses
remained in poverty.
The "native" masses rose in rebellion to scourge the "ungodlike" using the name of nationality and
religion to drive the outsiders from their land.
The once flourishing society, became weak and decrepit.
The Jews among others experienced this for 1900 years in Europe culminating with Hitler.
It would be truer to say that generally, people are quick to use religion as their excuse when
wanting to go to war. |
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Napoleon Wars
WWI
WWII
French Revolution
Russian Revolution
Prussian Conquests
Indochina Independence
EITC occupation of India
War of 1812
Vietnam War
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Occupation of Tibet and Taiwan
Civil War
Japan-Russia Conflict
Manchuria Occupation
Punic Wars
Peloponesian Wars
Alexander the Great's Conquest
Here is a small list of wars that were not caused by religion. |
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Wrong religion does not cause death, man causes death. It was the original sin of Adam and Eve that
brought about death. As for the Holicaust, it wasn't religion that caused death, but a very crazy
Austrian paper hanger named Adolph Hitler. Remember this, everyone dies from the same two thing, you
stop breathing and your heart stops beating. |
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True religion is the channel of God's own life into the people who submit to His will. His power
makes it possible to act in life-affirming ways when everything around you is filled with death and
destruction. I was a marine infantryman in Vietnam, and I observed those who were depending on God
to exude true life under the worst of circumstances. |
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In every case you mention it was the worst qualities that a man can have that caused those deaths.
Religion was merely an excuse to commit such crimes. You could also assert that governments cause
death. Do you have any plans in doing away with that? |
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Religion doesn't commit death!!! Its like a scanty somewhere safe for people they have that right |
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Naw, maybe fake religion. True religion no though.
Here is what true religion is:
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: To look after orphans and
widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27)
Nothing like that would cause death. Unless the person who is a part of that religion is a
hypocrite. |
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There is no evidence that any religion had caused death in and of itself. Do you see moderate
muslims or the mainstream of christians trying to kill each other. The reason there is a war in Iraq
is because Saddam Heussin was an oppressive dictator who encouraged the RADICAL muslims on their
"Holy War" or Jihad. If you look at the principles of all of the world's major religions they are
all based on peaceful unity in the world. After all when people talk about Christians' role in the
Holocaust they are wrong. Most of the Nazi high command were EX-Christians who left their faith
because their religions would not support in any way their behavior. |
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Actually, secular ideologies of the twentieth century probably caused more deaths than conflicts
involving established religion over the past two thousand years. In contrast to what has been said
in this debate, Adolf Hitler was essentially an atheist, rather than a practicing Christian. He may
have been baptised as an infant, but reading his writing makes it perfectly clear that he rejected
the Christian (and especially the Catholic) faith. The Holocaust was not initiated by established
religions, but by secular governments, even if anti-Semitism certainly did exist among Christians.
It is always tricky to calculate the number of deaths caused by governments and individuals who
subscribed to the two, main secular and totalitarian ideologies of the twentieth century, namely
Nazism and Communism. In the case of Stalinist and Communist regimes, the number of fatalities
(through purges and genocide) probably stands close to around 100 million. We also know that six
million Jews fell victim to Nazism, as did nearly three million non-Jewish Poles, 220,000 Roma and
around 200,000 Jehovah's Witnesses. The number of male homosexuals killed by Nazis probably stands
at around 15,000. |
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All the events that you stated above have nothing to do with religion and everything to do with
government greed and economics. Religion is another facet to culture that makes culture more rich.
There is much more gained in religion than lost. Religion is not the problem, it's the policies of
bad governments. |
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12 Feb 2008 02:14
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