On the weekend I heard another claim that religion is responsible for most of the violence in the world.
Although my initial reaction was, “Come on!” in another way I can see why people think that. Look at what is happening in Israel and Iraq. In one you have Jews vs Muslims (mostly) and in the other you have Sunni Muslims vs everyone else. It is obvious that this is all about religion. Or is it?
Even a superficial look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will show that it has very little to do with religion. Israel is really a secular state and I doubt many of the Israelis involved are particularly observant Jews. The Palestinians want independence whether they are Muslim, Christian or atheist. It is a land dispute with heavy ethnic issues but it has very little to do with religion.
What about IS in Iraq? Is that a religious war? Obviously it has some some religious elements. But is it really about religion? For some it may be, but it is more likely about one group attempting to take advantage of the power vacuum with the American military presence gone. Yes the leadership is using religion as a rallying point but I am sure they are more excited about victory than religion. Do you think the average member of IS really cares about the different religious shades? Not likely. It is more about finally being on a winning side.
When looking at the role of religion with war, a good case study is the Nazis under Hitler. Hitler peppered his speeches with a lot of religious phrases and he knew how to use the German church. Yet when you look at his private correspondences you see how much he detested Christianity. Instead of trying to abolish the Church as Stalin attempted, Hitler tried to use religion as a tool.
John Lennon in his song Imagine suggested that a world without religion would be a world of peace. Many people today still believe it and yet is far from truth. If scientists came up with a serum today that would banish all religious thoughts from the human brain, war would continue, perhaps even with more cruelty. Ethic divisions, land disputes, desire for resources, financial greed, all of these things have more than enough power to fuel war.
Religion may be a tool used by some military leaders, but it is far from the essential ingredient.
