Freethought & Rationalism Archive

newintellectual · 03-28-2004, 10:24 AM

Does anyone out there have any idea what the popular estimate is for the number of deaths throughout history resulting from actions on the part of the Catholic Church?
I'm thinking of purges, inquisitions, heretic brandings, and the like. How many millions have been killed as a result of Catholic dictum?

Postcard73 · 03-28-2004, 10:39 AM

I think this question would be better asked in GRD.

Scott (Postcard73)
BC&H Moderator

Gawdawful · 03-28-2004, 10:50 AM

The witch burnings in England, killing 30,000 and the Spanish Inquisition, at 60,000 dead, pale in comparison to the approximately 9 million killed in the Crusades.

Warren in Oklahoma

missus_gumby · 03-28-2004, 10:56 AM

I think this may be of some use.

Missus Gumby

Goliath · 03-28-2004, 07:53 PM

One death caused by xianity is one death too many.

Sincerely,

Goliath

Occams_Razor · 03-28-2004, 08:33 PM

Shouldn't we also be adjusting for population inflation? I mean if the statistic of nine million deaths caused by the crusades is correct, that's nine million people in a total earth population of approximately 450,000,000 at the time. The modern population as of today is 6,357,066,250. Let's round down to 6,300,000,000 and do some math. If I figure correctly, 9,000,000 in 1200 a.d. is the percentage equivalent of 125,844,637 today. WOW

Rhaedas · 03-28-2004, 09:19 PM

To be fair, wouldn't that crusades number be spread over a much longer period overall than the rest of the events? Not that it makes it okay...still a lot of death.

Magus55 · 03-28-2004, 11:36 PM

And Hitler, Stalin killed 30 million together. Stop associating one group or persons actions with an entire population. Christianity has nothing to do with the Crusades and the Inquisition, anymore than Germans being responsible for the murders by Hitler. A group who is part of the Catholic Church committed those acts, not Christianity. And those acts went completely against Jesus' teachings. It was a Catholic political agenda, not a Christian one.

Scorpion · 03-28-2004, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magus55

A group who is part of the Catholic Church committed those acts, not Christianity. And those acts went completely against Jesus' teachings. It was a Catholic political agenda, not a Christian one.

As far as this thread goes, they've all talked about Catholic Church so far... (Edited to add: oops, except Goliath)

-S-

scumble · 03-29-2004, 01:23 AM

The key point here is that a supposedly Chiristian institution, composed of many devout men, encouraged deplorable acts. It chips away at the idea that Christianity makes people good or necessarily encourages civilized behaviour.

03-28-2004, 10:24 AM	#1
newintellectual New Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: New York State Posts: 3	Number of deaths as result of the Catholic Church Does anyone out there have any idea what the popular estimate is for the number of deaths throughout history resulting from actions on the part of the Catholic Church? I'm thinking of purges, inquisitions, heretic brandings, and the like. How many millions have been killed as a result of Catholic dictum?

03-29-2004, 01:23 AM	#10
scumble Regular Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: UK Posts: 279	The Point The key point here is that a supposedly Chiristian institution, composed of many devout men, encouraged deplorable acts. It chips away at the idea that Christianity makes people good or necessarily encourages civilized behaviour.

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03-28-2004, 10:39 AM	#2
Postcard73 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Roanoke, VA. Posts: 2,198	I think this question would be better asked in GRD. Scott (Postcard73) BC&H Moderator

03-28-2004, 10:50 AM	#3
Gawdawful Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: In a cardboard box under the viaduct. Posts: 2,107	The witch burnings in England, killing 30,000 and the Spanish Inquisition, at 60,000 dead, pale in comparison to the approximately 9 million killed in the Crusades. Warren in Oklahoma

03-28-2004, 10:56 AM	#4
missus_gumby Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: UK Posts: 1,898	I think this may be of some use. Missus Gumby

03-28-2004, 07:53 PM	#5
Goliath Banned Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Fargo, ND, USA Posts: 1,849	One death caused by xianity is one death too many. Sincerely, Goliath

03-28-2004, 08:33 PM	#6
Occams_Razor Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: New York, NY Posts: 664	Shouldn't we also be adjusting for population inflation? I mean if the statistic of nine million deaths caused by the crusades is correct, that's nine million people in a total earth population of approximately 450,000,000 at the time. The modern population as of today is 6,357,066,250. Let's round down to 6,300,000,000 and do some math. If I figure correctly, 9,000,000 in 1200 a.d. is the percentage equivalent of 125,844,637 today. WOW

03-28-2004, 09:19 PM	#7
Rhaedas Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: USA Posts: 3,440	To be fair, wouldn't that crusades number be spread over a much longer period overall than the rest of the events? Not that it makes it okay...still a lot of death.

03-28-2004, 11:36 PM	#8
Magus55 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: USA Posts: 7,204	And Hitler, Stalin killed 30 million together. Stop associating one group or persons actions with an entire population. Christianity has nothing to do with the Crusades and the Inquisition, anymore than Germans being responsible for the murders by Hitler. A group who is part of the Catholic Church committed those acts, not Christianity. And those acts went completely against Jesus' teachings. It was a Catholic political agenda, not a Christian one.

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