He started a campaign against the catholic king James to get his wife on the throne and become King of England, himself. If so, Id be glad to see them, so I wont be so foolish and wrong when I tell people religion had little to do with starting wars. Systemic violations of FoRB against specific groups can cause horizontal inequalities that aggravate grievances, which can then motivate violent protest, armed conflict, or violent extremism.27Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, A/75/385, para. the demonstrated acceptance (by theists) of the reference work (the Encyclopedia) as a suitable source for claims of the number of religious wars, the preferred approach is thus the somewhat laborious method of reading through the individual descriptions, and causes of each war, and where the authors have clearly stated religion as a causal factor, manually listing the war in question as a Religious War. religion or belief can be an easy way for a conflict perpetrator to categorize the opposition as other. Similarly, religion or belief may be used as an identity marker when religion or belief corresponds with other social identifiers,24Matthias Basedau, Birte Pfeiffer, and Johannes Vllers, Bad Religion? Religious identification of adult population in the U.S. 2022. The European wars of religion were a series of wars waged in Europe during the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries. A minority. Proposed Methodology In the past decade, action by theGeneral Assembly haslargely focused on reinforcing Human Rights Council resolutions. The global death toll from terrorism over the past decade ranged from 8,200 in 2011 to a high of 44,600 in 2014. The Global Terrorism Index gives a score to each country dependent on how affected they are by terrorism. India is a prominent concern, with recent mob attacks resulting in mass deaths. In 2018, religion-related armed conflict took the greatest toll on the populations in: Interreligious violence12The Pew Research Center defines interreligious violence as acts of sectarian or communal violence between religious groups. Pew Research Center, A Closer Look at How Religious Restrictions Have Risen Around the World, July 15, 2019, p. 32. has also been steadily declining on a global level and in all regions, except for Sub-Saharan Africa.13Pew Research Center, A Closer Look at How Religious Restrictions Have Risen Around the World, p. 32. UN General Assembly, Resolution 73/176, A/RES/73/176, December 17, 2018. The Security Council has taken some actions recognizingreligion as a factor in conflict. This works for muslims as well. Government hostilities involving physical violence against minority or non-registered religious groups rose by 19 percentfrom 2017 to 2018 (and spread from 47 countries in 2017 to 58 countries in 2018). or where the state displays aggression toward religious minorities or dissenting persons in the religious majority.20U.S. But, in fact (it seems) that religion was used to get into power. UN General Assembly, Resolution 66/167, A/RES/66/167, December 19, 2011. The index however only lists 14 of them, omitting the war from 1030-1035. Fought after the Protestant Reformation began in 1517, the wars disrupted the religious and political order in the Catholic countries of Europe, or Christendom.Other motives during the wars involved revolt, territorial ambitions and great power conflicts. In the First War of Religion (1562-63), France was divided for nearly forty years, and the conflict was generally inconclusive, but ended with a compromise agreement. David, if Andrew Holt is correct, then isnt it appropriate to confess that your research was inadequate? In most categories, violence based on religion or belief has increased significantly in recent years. Research and human rights organizations also widely consider the forced internment of predominantly Muslim Uyghurs in China16Lauren Baillie and Rachel Vandenbrink, China: The International Community Is Failing Xinjiangs Uyghurs, United States Institute of Peace, December 30, 2020, https://www.usip.org/publications/2020/12/china-international-community-failing-xinjiangs-uyghurs. However, General Assembly resolutions are, like Human Rights Council resolutions, non-binding, and implementation depends on the political will of member states. "Religious" appeared 216 times. Holts thoughtful and better-cited response, allowing God to be prejudiced on our behalf, What Causes Wars? Seriously, when was atheism ever used as a rallying cry for the individuals who fought the wars in the meme? Is religion a power for peace or does it cause conflict? - KS3 - BBC State-perpetrated violence that resulted in death occurred in 20 of these countries, an increase of 25 percent since 2007. This issue brief examines the issue of FoRB through a security lens, considers the impact of the increase in this type of violence, and sketches opportunities for the UN and member states to take action to prevent and counter it. The governments of China and Russia have both imposed high levels of FoRB restrictions on their own populations, and both hold veto power on the Council. The great series of western holy wars were the Crusades, which lasted from 1095 until 1291 CE. The Pew Research Center defines social hostilities involving religion as acts of religion-related hostility by private individuals, organizations or groups in society. Pew Research Center. What do you think was the bloodiest "religious" war in history? Christians have had diverse attitudes towards violence and nonviolence over time. Staff and affiliates by name or research area. Although a few studies have analyzed the relationship between non-violent FoRB restrictions and violent conflict in specific regions, more research is needed to determine whether and how FoRB restrictions correlate with the outbreak of violent conflict worldwide. I think perhaps, as tempting as it would be, I will not be using these number in discussions with atheists. Over the past decade, terrorists killed an average of 26,000 people worldwide each year. Thanks, Do you have any data to support that wars have a religious cause above the 7% indicated?. How many deaths have been caused by religion? In some years in the early post-war era, around half a million people died through direct violence in wars. Aren't the Wars of Religion the bloodiest of all wars?. I never read the Encyclopedia. Unacceptable: What its like to be a Liberal Christian in a Sea of Conservativism, 12 Myths Too Many Christians Believe, Part 1 Part 2. In "Encyclopedia of Wars," authors Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod document the history of recorded warfare, and from their list of 1763 wars only 123 have been classified to involve a religious cause, accounting for less than 7 percent of all wars and less than 2 percent of all people killed in warfare. This article is more than 9 years old Doesn't religion cause most of the conflict in the world? The answer is "yes" and "no." "Yes" in the sense that as a secondary cause, religion, on the surface at least, has been the impetus behind much conflict. Just 5% of terrorist fatalities occur in OECD countries. Policymakers should, however, be concerned about the rising trends in violence based on religion or belief, specifically in relation to government force, mob violence, property damage, and the imposition of religious norms, and the ongoing impacts of religion-related armed conflicts and interreligious violence on civilians. In 2022, 26.8 percent of Americans were unaffiliated with any religion. He used religion to win his case. v t e This list of wars by death toll includes all deaths that are either directly or indirectly caused by the war. https://apholt.com/2018/12/26/counting-religious-wars-in-the-encyclopedia-of-wars/. Liberal historians agree that wars are caused by conservatives. Most wars are fought for expansionism and greed. Lies are not appropriate in support of truth. Neither is stealing. The book lists some wars as (for example) Religion, Sixth and Seventh Wars of these have been counted as two wars, but have only one entry. For example, though ethnic conflicts usually incorporate a religious aspect, research shows that the primary causes are often non-religious in nature.25Jonathan Fox, Clash of Civilizations or Clash of Religions: Which Is a More Important Determinant of Ethnic Conflict? Ethnicities 1, no. Others interviewed for this initiative includeElisabet le Roux, Ani Sarkissian, Lisa Sharland, Mine Yildirim, and Kelsey Zorzi. UN General Assembly, Elections of the Human Rights Council, October 13, 2020, https://www.un.org/en/ga/75/meetings/elections/hrc.shtml. When examining how religion-related conflict develops, research shows that conflict actors may use religion or belief in order to define targets, motivate violence, and sustain conflict. There must be letters, diaries and notes of Napoleon and the people who had to deal with him in government or military positions or his social network. In the 1981 UN Declaration, the General Assembly asserted that the disregard and infringement of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or whatever belief, have brought, directly or indirectly, wars and great suffering to mankind.35Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief in UN General Assembly, Resolution 36/55, A/RES/36/55, November 25, 1981, para. Research also points to the idea that the politicization of religion can result in more intense violence between religious groups.29Matthias Basedau, Johannes Vllers, and Peter Krner, What Drives Inter-Religious Violence? A large number of people have been killed, injured, and maimed during violent religious conflicts. A religious war (or "Holy War", Latin bellum sacrum) is a war caused by, or justified by, differences in religion. Summary. Nov 28, 2018 at 9:40 28 Marxist historians agree that wars are caused by property & exploitation of the proletariat. In the same year, the governments of Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Rwanda, Syria, and Uzbekistan were each responsible for between approximately 1,000 and 10,000 incidents of force against religious or belief communities. Is Religion Responsible for the Most Wars and Deaths in History? - LinkedIn War - Wikipedia There are important opportunities for UN member states to strengthen the FoRB agenda through the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, and the General Assembly. Even in "religious wars", religion is often a cover for ethnic, social, economic, or other power struggles. This threat remains largely underrecognized by the international community, even as new data show increases in many types of such violence. Non-State Actors, accessed January 12, 2020, https://www.uscirf.gov/publications/did-you-knownon-state-actors. fivefold increase in deaths from terrorism since the 9/11 suicide attacks. Some might have wanted to escape from home, get a farm somewhere in Holland, earn a lot of money, or steal it. Religious extremism has become the main driver of terrorism in recent years, according to this years Global Terrorism Index. Following a slight decline in 2018, social violence resulted in one or more deaths in 39 countries, with non-fatal assaults occurring in 66 countries. Let me know if I missed any! Can we call the Childrens crusades a war if they never got into a fight? How Many Wars Throughout History Have Been Fought Over Religion? In August 2019, the Security Council hosted anArria-formulameeting on Advancing the safety and security ofpersons belonging toreligious minorities in armed conflict,in support oftheInternational Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. Research, programs and projects, events, and institutional information. This section summarizes these major trends to inform policy analysis on how the UN system should respond, examining violence perpetrated by both state and non-state actors. The Human Rights Council, the General Assembly, and the Security Council have allengaged recently on issues related to violence based on religion or belief, as summarized below. Despite these drawbacks, we argue that greater action by the Council on this issue (complemented by stronger action at the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly on the full FoRB agenda) could help support the Security Councils primary role in preventing and responding to conflict, as well as in supporting measures for accountability, human rights, and upholding the UN Charter. According to one reputable source, only 7% of the 1763 recorded wars in history were fought on religious grounds (Encyclopedia of Wars). "From their list of 1,763 wars, only 123 have been classified as involving a religious cause, accounting for less than 7 percent of all wars and less than 2 percent of all war deaths," the rabbi concludes. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Annual Report 2020. State attempts toeliminate the presence of at least one religious group from the country (through violent or non-violent means) have been recorded in Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, China, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, and Yemen. Is religion really responsible for most of our wars? It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular or irregular military forces. It actually emphasises the number of religious wars in the introduction and goes on in the body to identify 617 around 35%. 3 (September 2001): 295-320, https://doi.org/10.1177/146879680100100302. In the Roman Empire, the early church adopted a nonviolent stance when . the demonstrated failure of the Index methodology (above), That means that all faiths combined - minus Islam - have caused less than 4% of all of humanity's wars and violent conflicts. Most Christians today would fall into the middle two. That religion causes wars. I simply copy-pasted the CARM url to end debates on Facebook with atheists a couple of years ago.. and it worked! They told it for so long that I doubt theyll accept only 25 to 30% of wars were caused by religion. The Complicated Future of Student Loans - The New York Times 37 and 38. Any remaining errors are the responsibility of the authors. So. I replied that I really am ashamed about the child rape in my church, but that he had a lot of nerve talk about bloody wars as a communist. It is a cause but not THE cause. Is Religion Responsible for the Most Wars and Deaths in History? Members of the two sects have co-existed for centuries and share many fundamental beliefs and practices. Your email address will not be published. PS I also own a set of A&P. If you go to the index under religious wars, you will see the listing of 121 wars. Exploring The Pros And Cons Of Physical Education In Junior High Schools. Religious war | Military Wiki | Fandom And he was right. These actions in the Human Rights Council, General Assembly, and Security Council have all contributed to reinforcing both FoRB generally and efforts against violence based on religion or belief specifically. The only logical rational conclusion is that the index heading merely states these wars are religious nowhere does it state that This is a comprehensive listing of all the religious wars identified in the body of the encyclopedia. I searched the PDF for "religion." It appeared 201 times. No Hemlock. which are responsible for severe or high levels of violations of freedom of religion or belief,44Pew Research Center, In 2018, Government Restrictions on Religion Reach Highest Level Globally in More Than a Decade, p. 57. taking seats on the Human Rights Council in 2021. See, for example, UN Security Council, Resolution 2499 (2019), S/RES/2499 (2019), November 15, 2019. According to Philip and Axelrod's three-volume Encyclopedia of Wars, there have been over 1,700 wars fought in human history. Thousands of thousands were slaughtered who did not want to convert. India, Iraq, Libya, Philippines, and Sudan (with tens of thousands killed or displaced). With your update, recognizing that the causes are in fact categorized in the index, Im not sure why youre still trying to make the argument. There were many periods of persecution of Jews in Europe during the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century, religious conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in Japan during the seventeenth-century, Mormons were expelled from Missouri and Illinois in the 1840s, and the Branch Davidian conflagration occurred in the nineteenth. The Pew Research Center defines religion-related terrorism as politically motivated violence against noncombatants by subnational groups or clandestine agents with a religious justification or intent. Pew Research Center, Appendix D, p. 87. 1,2,3 says that only about 17% of wars have been purely religious. 2 (March 2016): 226-255, https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002714541853. Finally, it explores key risks and opportunities for strengthening UN efforts, offering recommendations for UN member states to advance this agenda. Gerald Is Teacher, Book Author And Harry Potter Huge Fan. Between 1562 and 1598, eight civil wars erupted as a result of these tensions. Good to see that we all are trying to understand the facts about this list of wars. I would even say that they did it on purpose to fit their narrative. According to legend, on February 11, 624 A.D., Prophet Muhammad received a revelation from God that he should be facing Mecca, rather than Jerusalem, during prayer. Somehow it feels good that these facts are being checked. We can study these notes and try to draw a conclusion but what we still dont know for sure is what he really thought and what his real intentions were. Of the first 489 wars listed in the Encyclopedia (starting with the letter A, B or C, representing 27.5% of all the wars listed(*)), 29% are categorised as religious. As of 2018, Bahais, Scientologists, Sikhs, Rastafarians, and Zoroastrians faced harassment by state actors in 50 countries, compared to harassment by non-state actors in 25 countries.3Pew Research Center, In 2018, Government Restrictions on Religion Reach Highest Level Globally in More Than a Decade, p. 28. The book also does not talk about The Crusades in Africa. what was going on between christians and muslims in the middle ages? The decline of the absolute number of battle . (*) Notes In 2019, the General Assembly adopted two additional resolutionson violence based on religion or belief. Beyond specific country situations, the Council could consider looking at these violence trends to consider a more thematic, preventive approach overall for its agenda and to strengthen its own analysis. I find it interesting that people remain upset about the first statement but ignore the second. 2. Yes THE VOLUME CITED By theists Axelrod and Phillips. As Matt states: It implies that Im almost as omniscient. Andrew Holt "It is somewhat trite, but nevertheless sadly true, to say that more wars have been waged, more people killed, and these days more evil perpetrated in the name of religion than by any other institutional force in human history." . In all, eight major Crusade expeditions took place between 1096 and 1291, primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both Christians and Muslims. If we use his defense and apply it to christianity. And.no-one can claim to fight in the name of God. Ewelina U. Ochab, After Years of Impunity for Mass Atrocities, Nigeria Faces a New Wave of Violence by a Daesh Affiliated Group,, See Matthias Basedau and Johanna Schaefer-Kehnert, Religious Discrimination and Religious Armed Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Obvious Relationship?,. These kinds of debates are fun but in the end it doesnt help a bit if you want people to understand or accept the opponents point of view. How Many People Have Been Killed in the Name of Religion? The previous section described recent actions by the UN to protect FoRB, but these actions have proven insufficient to address growing violence related to religion or belief. In light of these research findings, policymakers should avoid broad generalizations about the role of religion or belief in either driving or preventing conflict, nor should they assume a causal relationship between restrictions on religion or belief and violent conflict. The Top Religious Wars in History - ReligioMag Sort of.. Member states could seize the following seven opportunities: The authors offer thanks to the many experts who shared insights that informed this analysis, particularly to Victoria K. Holt, Paul Romita, Ahmed Shaheed, Knox Thames, and Madeline Vellturo for reviewing drafts of this issue brief and speaking with the authors one-on-one. In fact, you know what that's called? They even celebrated his birthday date. Time to take down this article. Thats still lower than the reality of what Atheist kept pushing. Maybe you do have good reasons you can provide to support the claim? And we have another problem. The absolute number of war deaths has been declining since 1946. David your words: The claims that (1) there have been 1,763 wars in human history, and (2) only 123 of them are a result of religious causes, appear explicitly nowhere in Encyclopedia of Wars. However, the answer is "no" in the sense that religion is never the primary cause of war. Religion Caused Almost Every War in History | Evangelism In fact there are literally hundreds of religious wars not included in the index, but emphatically identified as such in the body of the text. Further thanks go to the participants of the closed-door expert workshop Violence Based on Religion or Belief: Opportunities for UN Action, held on November 20, 2020 by the Stimson Center. Of these, the authors include only 123 of them as being related to a . The demonstrably flawed theist methodology understates the percentage of religious wars by a factor of around FOUR. But for the countries being attacked it was just another oppressor who happened to push his religion on the conquered land. Religion as the Cause of War? - CARM.ORG Is this war considered to be religious? Violence carried out by state forces that did not result in death took place in 40 states. Freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is a human right, recognized by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion and Belief. United Nations Human Rights Council, List of HRC-Mandated Commissions of Inquiries / Fact-Finding Missions & Other Bodies, October 2019, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/ListHRCMandat.aspx.