# Incidents of Religious-Motivated Violence in US (in last ~10 years) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 4, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incidents-of-religious-motivated-violence-in-us-in-last-10-years/627226 "2012-07-04T17:36:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incidents-of-religious-motivated-violence-in-us-in-last-10-years/627226/21 "2012-07-05T18:44:15Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > He supposedly had a longstanding relationship with the Christian Identity movement. What he said _after_ the crime doesn’t necessarily reflect his true feelings; many extremist groups understand the concept of plausible deniability. The people who actually go out and commit violence are often told to make a point of publicly dissociating themselves from the group. Eric Rudolph has spoken out of both sides of his mouth- YOU have made a choice to believe one of his stories over the others. Suit yourself- but don’t pretend you’re doing so based on a careful analysis of the facts. You have your own axes to grind with Christianity, and not surprisingly, you interpret Rudolph’s actions accordingly. In the same way, the two thugs who murdered Matthew Shepard have changed their story at least twice as to why they did so. Once, they said it was becaue he was gay. More recently, they have claimed they were really just after money for crystal meth. Which story is true? I have no idea; all I know for sure is that they’re murderes who’ve lied at least once about their motives. But WHICH story people choose to believe is generally based NOT on the facts, but on which story suits their political purposes. If Matthew Shepard was killed because he was gay, he becomes a useful political icon. If he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when some druggies wanted money… he’s of far less use to the gay cause. All we KNOW is that Eric Rudolph is a remorseless killer. His reasons are, at best, unclear… though I’m inclined to believe what he’s told his mother. I don’t think he takes Christianity any more seriously than Der Trihs does. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incidents-of-religious-motivated-violence-in-us-in-last-10-years/627226/22 "2012-07-05T19:55:34Z")
The idea that Matthew Shepard’s death was over a drug deal gone bad was NEVER presented at the murderers’ trials. I repeat: NEVER. It was first mentioned in a 20/20 interview three years after the murderers were found guilty. THREE YEARS! ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incidents-of-religious-motivated-violence-in-us-in-last-10-years/627226/23 "2012-07-05T19:58:14Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > You have your own axes to grind with Christianity, and not surprisingly, you interpret Rudolph’s actions accordingly. You’re making stuff up. Axes to grind? How about the fact that in the article you presented, Rudolph does not deny being Christian but you said he does? ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incidents-of-religious-motivated-violence-in-us-in-last-10-years/627226/24 "2012-07-06T01:33:40Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > No, it probably wasn’t. > > [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-07-05-rudolph-cover-partone\_x.htm](http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-07-05-rudolph-cover-partone_x.htm) > > Rudolph is not necessarily to be taken at his word (psycho killers tend to be pathological liars, too), and you may be able to find other interviews or correspondence in which he says something completely different, BUT… in letters to hs mother, Eric Rudolph not only denies being a Christian, he laughs at the born-again Christian types who want to save his soul, because (in HIS words), “I prefer Nietzsche to the Bible.” > > That doesn’t mean there haven’t been people doing evil things based on their own interpretation of Christianity… but it DOES mean Eric Rudolph, contrary to popular belief, probably isn’t one of them. The only thing that I saw to possibly indicate that Christian ideals may not be his motive was the quote about preferring Nietzsche to the bible. This after conviction. He’s had time to change his story, and as another poster mentioned, distance himself from the Christian identity movement. There are things we tell our parents to smooth things over (apparently, his mom is pretty spiritual) and make them feel better. This could very well be something of an attempt to aleviate any guilt she was likely feeling. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incidents-of-religious-motivated-violence-in-us-in-last-10-years/627226/25 "2012-07-06T03:28:10Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Because I was thinking of most religiously motivated violence as directed against people who are religiously different from the perpetrator, and I assume that both the victim and the killer were Christian. I grant you, that may be problematic, since as mentioned the killer appears to be a nutcase. They’re both Christian, sure. But so were both sides in the 30 Years War. Maybe that’s not the best analogy. The killer, who I agree is a nutcase, seemed to believe that Tiller was doing the Devil’s work in doing the abortions and he seemed to believe that even though Tiller was an Evangelical Lutheran, he was acting against God. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incidents-of-religious-motivated-violence-in-us-in-last-10-years/627226/26 "2012-07-06T03:34:08Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > There were those recent incidents where underage second and third wives (and all the children) were taken from a Mormon sect over the issue of polygamy. Not really violence, but certainly intolerance. > > If you want to go back further, there was the Waco bake-off, where depending on who you believe, the men in black helicopters burned down Koresh’s house while the religious types inside had nothing to do with machine-gunning BATF agents through the walls during a raid - or the insiders burned down the house, or refused to let the women and children leave, because death was preferrable to surrendering to the agents of satan. In both of these cases events were triggered by government authorities who were not acting out of religious motivation. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incidents-of-religious-motivated-violence-in-us-in-last-10-years/627226/27 "2012-07-06T04:08:32Z")
> [@missred](#): > > The only thing that I saw to possibly indicate that Christian ideals may not be his motive was the quote about preferring Nietzsche to the bible. This after conviction. He’s had time to change his story, and as another poster mentioned, distance himself from the Christian identity movement. > > There are things we tell our parents to smooth things over (apparently, his mom is pretty spiritual) and make them feel better. This could very well be something of an attempt to aleviate any guilt she was likely feeling. So… telling his Mom that he’s an atheist/nihilist who doesn’t believe in the Bible is supposed to make her feel better??? Sorry, that is a major reach. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incidents-of-religious-motivated-violence-in-us-in-last-10-years/627226.md?page=1)