Some would say ‘The Crusades’ are a major example of religion causing war. From the 11th century to the 13th Christian states in Europe launched what was sometimes called ‘Holy Wars’ against Muslims in the East. These wars cantered on the city of Jerusalem which held a holy significance in the Christian world. However when the Christians were massacred; this began the retaliation and therefore the beginning if the ‘The Crusades’ to release the holy city of Jerusalem from the rule of Muslims. In this example. Religion has clearly caused this war.
Ignoring ‘The Crusades’ and more specifically the ‘First Crusade’, it is difficult to confidently state that there have been other wars which have undeniable religious causes. However, one which has underlying religious origins is ‘World War II’. It is recorded that Hitler said, in the book ‘Mein Kampf’, “hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord. While some say Hitler was irrational and mentally disturbed in his thinking, it is undeniable that one of the main reasons for creating the Nazi party was a misguided religious belief and therefore the beginning of World War II can be put down to religion to an extent.
To an extent the ‘anti-terrorism’ war in Afghanistan is also an example of a war with a religious cause although some argue that the war began for other reasons, such as the US governments’ desire for resources from other lands in order to grow their own wealth. As the terrorist attacks in America were the catalysts for war in Afghanistan, it can be said that the conflict did have a religious cause. This is because of the terrorists having a misguided belief, much like Hitler and his determination to eradicate the Jews, that they were acting in the name of an Islamic God. Because of this belief the cause of the conflict in Afghanistan can also be put down to religion and therefore suggests that religion can cause war and conflict.
Although an argument against the claim that religion causes war is that war would happen regardless of whether religion existed or not. One viewpoint is that it is in human nature to always want more and this, more than religion, can cause conflict with others which may lead to war. This is justified by the several wars and conflicts that are fought over land and resources.
In conclusion, it may be unfair to blame religion for all the war in the world as it is very likely that war would persist without the influence of religion. However having said that, one can not ignore the influence and impact religion has had on war and warfare. Some wars do have religious causes but consequently it is false to suggest that religion cause war in general as there are other hugely significant cause such as political issues, power struggles and the greed of humanity which are just as likely to cause war as religion
