Religious Beliefs During The Crusades

Throughout the religious history of the world there have been many instances in which religion and religious beliefs have been used as an excuse to perpetrate crimes against others. These crimes can be seen in many different religions, such as Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. Islam and their use of Jihad, or “holy war”, is used as a way to rationalize the killing of individuals that are considered to be infidels. Like Islam, Hinduism, uses their religious teachings as a way to oppress those of lower castes. Individuals in the lowest caste are considered untouchables; they are treated horribly, and ostracized by those of higher caste. Even Christianity is no stranger to the use of religion to further their own agenda. Christians, time and …show more content…
The Crusades are important part of Christian history not only for what they represented, a holy war to take back Jerusalem against the Muslim infidels, but also because of the far reaching consequences that hundreds of years of war had on the development of the Church and society itself. Not only could the effects of the Crusade be felt during the time that they took place but the effects of the Crusades can even be felt to this …show more content…
When Christianity first began all Christians were strict pacifists. Christians did not believe that violence was a justifiable response. However, this began to change once Constantine converted to Christianity and Christians found themselves no longer being persecuted. With the conversion of Constantin to Christianity, Christians gained power and eventually became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. However, once the power of the Roman Empire began to wane and Christians found themselves without the protection of the Roman Empire, Christians were forced to take up arms to protect themselves and their towns. In order to rationalize the use of violence, Augustin of Hippo proposed the Just War theory, which he defined as warfare against sin. Augustin believed that war when waged by proper authority for moral reasons and with due restraint, a just war, is not simply an acceptable defensive action but a positive moral act (Andrea 161). Augustin saw war and violence as a justifiable response if the violence was not being used out of hatred, but out of the need to protect oneself and as a means of salvation for those whom the violence was being perpetrated against. According to Augustin, “The just warrior restrains the sinner from evil; while killing the body he, saves the soul, like a surgeon cutting out a malignant tumor, he must act benevolently and never out of hatred or with murderess passion”