The Encounter Between War And Religion

Throughout history different religious groups had varying opinions of war. Some religions, such as Confucianism and Hinduism, supported war and respected men that served in their military. Whereas, other religions, like, Christianity and Buddhism, condemned war totally. After reading these religion-based documents three different groups emerged; those who supported war, those who tolerated war, and those who opposed war.

The eight wars of religion escalated thought-out 36 years, with intermittent interruptions. The Protestant progressing originated in Northern Europe in the early 16th century. but escalated in the 19th century. It began as a reaction to the Medieval Roman Catholic doctrine and practices. After a procession of European religious wars in the 16th and 17th centuries, and especially in the 19th century, it spread throughout the world. Wherever Protestantism arose, it altered the social, economic, political, and cultural life of the area The wars would end with the Edict of Nantes an edict that ingrained a limited tenacity. Frances struggle with religious turmoil between Catholics and Protestants was an ongoing crisis, however, the Spaniards belief in religion provided vast support to the moral code and allowed the police authoritative power of the state to loosen its grip on the community. History shows that atheistic, totalitarian states used force rather than religion to enforce obedience to government tyranny1 .

St. Augustine provided comments on morality of war from the Christian point of view (railing against the love of violence that war can engender) as did several critics in the intellectual flourishing from the 9th to 12th centuries. Just war theorists remind warriors and politicians alike that the principles of justice following war should be universalizable and morally ordered and that winning should not provide a license for imposing unduly harsh or punitive measures or that state or commercial interests should not dictate the form of new peace. “The attraction for jus post bellum thinkers is to return to the initial justice of the war”. This means that war is considered as self-defense.

Thomas Aquinas. The three conditions for waging a justified war is that war must be waged by authority. Aquinas says that, “It is not the business of a private individual to declare war, because he can seek for redress.” (Aquinas 484) This means that a country or individual in power must declare war because if anyone were to declare war it could be out of vanity and revenge. It would be for personal gain. Next, a war is justified by a just cause. This means that a war must have a substantial reason for it such as moral conflict or mistreatment of citizens. This is supported by quote,“When a nation or state has to be punished, for refusing to make amends for the wrongs inflicted by its subjects.”(Aquinas 485) Lastly, a war is justified only when the outcome will benefit the people, or it is for good intentions. “Wars that are waged not for motives of aggrandizement, or cruelty, but with the object of securing peace, of punishing evil-doers, and of uplifting the good.”(Aquinas 485)

The Crusades were some of the most well known religious wars in history. These wars were mission driven and very cruel. Many people perished in this fight to regain their land. The Crusades changed Europe for the better. It helped the economy and spread cultures. Many people were involved in the Crusades. There were a few reasons why the Crusades occurred. There were many Crusades that occurred and they lasted for many years.

The Crusades were a sequence of religious wars fought between 1096 and 1291 for control of the Holy Land. Pope Urban II initiated the First Crusade (1096–1102) in order to aid the Christian Byzantine Empire, which was under attack by Muslim Seljuk Turks. The Crusades had a lasting impact on European and Middle Eastern culture and politics that still continues to this day.

Religion has its share of causing grief, along with undoubtedly being an indirect cause to war. Religion is the cause of many things, some being good and some being bad. It can tear people apart, but it can also bring them together. All throughout history there have been many wars that were started due to a religious dispute between whoever was involved. While many people believe that religion is not one of the starting factors of war, the Lebanese Civil War, the Buddhist Uprising, and the Crusades prove those beliefs to be false, for they are directly tied to a religious cause.

Religion means a lot for the individuals today, for example the religion Christianity has a following of 2 billion people that is quarter of the people in the world and that causes war and conflict. These wars are started because people fight over which religion is real and which one is fake. So Christianity had the pacifist tradition which is to be able to become a roman soldier they had to make a sacrifice swearing an alliance to Cesar. Christians believe picking up sword

Religion has had an enormous impact on the lives of every human being. In its wake, religion has provided a code of morals for people to live by, given inspiration to many of the world’s most gifted artists, and has united civilization under common beliefs. Above all else, religion helps answer the age old question of what is our purpose on Earth. Although it has allowed civilizations to prosper and rise to unimaginable heights, religion has also been divisive and has created great rifts between cultures. Two of the greatest religions of the modern era are that of Christianity and Islam. Both have the same origins and similar messages of peace, yet their differences have caused events such as war, genocide, and other atrocities. Although Christianity and Islam share many of the same lessons of tranquility and love, they have also been used by many to justify unspeakable acts of violence against each other. Islam and Christianity are inherently violent, not because of the message they preach, but because of the unique interpretations by some of their followers.

Religion can invade, conquer, and rule masses of people far more effectively and efficiently than any empire or conqueror. This is not to spark a heated discussion about religions. Its purpose is, to say that, even though it is highly debatable whether religions are false or true, most of them serve a very basic purpose of establishing morals and values. Early religions were used as a source of power and economic growth. Even if one doesn’t believe in or agree with the teachings of any religion, history shows proof that it creates a sense of order. There are many religions in the past that have brought order and civilized conduct to large numbers of people, not through military conquest, but through the promise of reward or the fear of punishment. Religion is the glue that binds local communities into nationhood and creates common understandings and shared values that are essential to the growth of a civilization. No religion is fully formed at its start, so why did some religion play such a big role in growth of the Ancient Civilizations.

War, while being the vilest thing that humans can create, has been a part of our human heritage as much as religion. Scholars, historians, and philosophers have pondered upon why mankind is so prone to warfare. While not all humans choose to participate in war or in religion, both have affected each and every individual on this planet somehow. Religion has played a significant role in warfare by either being a motivating factor, moral builder, or even an arbitrator of peace. For as long as the human race exists, the practice of religion and proliferation of war will continue to remain.

“Among true worshipers of God those wars are looked on as peacemaking which are waged neither from aggrandizement nor cruelty but with the object of securing peace, of repressing the evil and supporting the good”. This quote by Thomas Aquinas describes the moral reasoning of why war and killing would be permissible in circumstances of promoting peace and “good” values. Since this is generally accepted, it may appear to be counterintuitive that armed humanitarian intervention is rarely pursued in response to numerous cases of human rights violations in foreign states. The decision to undertake armed humanitarian intervention involves more than a simple moral question of life. Disputes over armed humanitarian intervention involve complicated

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a warrior in the holy wars? Well, you mightn’t want to. These wars included lots of torment and bloodshed of the religious leaders. These oppositions of religion were entirely wrong. Religious leaders showed hatred and anger to other religions, resulting in them having wars.

For centuries the human race has seen blood spilled, a presence of dark clouds over your head, with the company of great terror that follows has always brought great suffering. War is the main event that will change history for the best or worst. There are only two reasons to start or to go to war: conquest of land (political view) or religion. Terrorism has been around since the Roman Empire and the Greeks, however the term terrorism was adopted during the French Revolution in the 1700 's.

The basis of all of these wars was religious disparity, so one would expect their beliefs to be far removed from one another. However, with the exception of a few, most of these religions have deep similarities in their principles. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are all monotheistic religions, that is, they believe there is only one God. He is the foundation of all that exists; He is merciful and had endowed us with a set of rules for our guidance so that we are all noble and virtuous. These three religions deem that humans are the most supreme creatures on earth and that we are capable of both good and evil. When we extend our righteousness, we are doing what God intended; when we exploit our freedom and hurt others, we are going against the will of God. With God’s help, every being is able to turn away from evil and lead a worthy life. Moreover, these religions are also hopeful about the future. They believe in the