darinmac

this may not be the correct spot for this question ,if so hopefully the moderator will put me where i belong ,
im doing a paper on the history of wars and conflicts caused by religion and would like some good sights where i can find documention to support my paper ...any help would be greatly appreciated

CJD

Religion doesn't cause war. The real cause is a little more complicated than that. The control of foreign policy is always in the hands of dominating groups in each country, whether those groups be landowners, lawyers, manufacturers, bankers or Ieaders of the proletariat; these ruling groups appoint the permanent and temporary officials in the foreign offices; they color public opinion through education and the press, sending out the "information" necessary for public decisions on war and peace; and they shape and dictate foreign policy in an effort to bolster up their control at home by increasing their economic and political power.

Whatever the dominating group thinks will perpetuate this internal control is the mainspring of the foreign policy of any government. If that interest seems to require an external war, then the government makes the war. If it seems to require peace and compromise, we have peace.

Wars never begin over something as simplistic as "My god is the one, true god" — not even the ones described in the TNK. There's a whole varied and complex web of issues simultaneously buzzing about.

gstafleu

While CJD certainly has a point, there is a countering view as well. It is given forceful expression in The End of Faith by Sam Harris.

Gerard Stafleu

darinmac

you know i see your point and maybe i didn't make mine clear enough,maybe i should have asked for information on religious intolerance and the effects it has on society,because it seems fairly clear to me that a lot of conflicts we see today ,especially those in the middle east ,are founded on and based somewhat on religious intolerance....you look at some of the important issues facing this country with respect to civil liberties and the separation of church and state,all these troubles caused by religious intolerance ...so yes i agree that governments are responsible for executing war ,there just seems to be a common thread throughout history that points to the fact that if there never was any religion we might be better off as a society......and thats what my paper is to focus on
so any help on documenting religious intolerance throughout the course of history would be greatly appreciated

RAFH

While what you describe might apply over the most recent 2 or 3 centuries and to an increasing degree more recently, prior to that, there weren't leaders of the proletariat, lawyers had little if any power, manufacturers were essentially middle class with very limited if any political power. Go back another 3 or 4 centuries and there were no foreign offices nor officials in them. There were no public decisions. A powerful leader or group of leaders decided they wanted what somebody else had or were convinced that somebody represented a threat and they attacked them. While there may have been and certainly were other reasons involved, religious intolerance was a major co-factor. Even in modern times, when it was necessary to whip the proletariat up, religion and/or religious intolerance was often one of major tools used.

Diogenes the Cynic

I'm moving this to GRD. Please remain seated until the thread comes to a complete stop.

DtC, Moderator, BC&H

whichphilosophy

Sure there have been wars in the name of religion but also in the name of politics. Mao Tse Tung once said,

Politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed.

Politics, religion,greed etc have all caused wars, as a result of our own faults.

Any research to say that religion caused wars would be imbalanced.

Goathead

Religion causes all wars, plagues and brittney spears.


They also cause the most devastating of all wars;

THE FLAME WAR!!!!!!!


Flame on, fools.