In this day and age, religion is just one social establishment performing certain functions, namely, providing moral guidance and solace for those who seek it. Times when religion has played a crucial role in the lives of common people around the world has happened for centuries and millenniums. However, not each occurrence was a good one. For instance, religion is also referred to as a ‘double edge sword’ since it can facilitate both peace and violence (Silberman). In cases such as the Aztecs, they believed in sacrificing human hearts and blood in order to appease their gods and pay for their sins. However, when it came to choosing the sacrificed victims, many conflicts arose; leading to the Flowery War also known as Xochiyaoyotl. Due to cases
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According to Volume 3 of the Encyclopedia of Wars, Philip and Axelrod’s research proves that of 1,763 wars waged over the course of human history, 123 (6.98%) of them were caused by religious differences (Phillips). Albeit, the percentage may be incredibly low, approximately 195,035,000 people died in the name of religion.(Not counting the three million people who were tragically killed in the Crusades and the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust during WWII). Furthermore, with dissimilar ideas of transcendental forces, it causes a divide between people; separating them into different groups. And because of their incompatibility with others, it gives them a ‘justification’ for killing others and a promise of rewarded martyrs.Therefore, due to the differences in belief of deities and/or supernatural entities, and techniques, the presence of oppression and war has remained in …show more content…
That wars such as The American Revolution, WWI, WWII, Cold War, etc. were all wars fought for freedom, a change in government, system or society and had nothing to do with religion. Admittedly, many of the listed wars were in fact in the name of freedom and change of government or society. However, many fail to remember the mass massacre of the six million European Jews during World War II and the three million people killed during the Crusade Wars due to their religious beliefs.. Furthermore, others argue that throughout time different views of religion will merge over time. Although it may be true in some sense. Nevertheless, in the process of merging together, may conflicts still arise before coming into terms with one another. In addition, according to Richard Dawkins, Britain 's best known atheist, “religion is the principal label, and the most dangerous one, by which a ‘they’, as opposed to a ‘we’ can be identified”
According to Volume 3 of the Encyclopedia of Wars, Philip and Axelrod’s research proves that of 1,763 wars waged over the course of human history, 123 (6.98%) of them were caused by religious differences (Phillips). Albeit, the percentage may be incredibly low, approximately 195,035,000 people died in the name of religion.(Not counting the three million people who were tragically killed in the Crusades and the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust during WWII). Furthermore, with dissimilar ideas of transcendental forces, it causes a divide between people; separating them into different groups. And because of their incompatibility with others, it gives them a ‘justification’ for killing others and a promise of rewarded martyrs.Therefore, due to the differences in belief of deities and/or supernatural entities, and techniques, the presence of oppression and war has remained in …show more content…
That wars such as The American Revolution, WWI, WWII, Cold War, etc. were all wars fought for freedom, a change in government, system or society and had nothing to do with religion. Admittedly, many of the listed wars were in fact in the name of freedom and change of government or society. However, many fail to remember the mass massacre of the six million European Jews during World War II and the three million people killed during the Crusade Wars due to their religious beliefs.. Furthermore, others argue that throughout time different views of religion will merge over time. Although it may be true in some sense. Nevertheless, in the process of merging together, may conflicts still arise before coming into terms with one another. In addition, according to Richard Dawkins, Britain 's best known atheist, “religion is the principal label, and the most dangerous one, by which a ‘they’, as opposed to a ‘we’ can be identified”