# Religion is the cause of all wars **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 1, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291 "2002-04-01T23:43:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/1 "2002-04-01T23:43:16Z")
Religion should be abolished. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/2 "2002-04-01T23:47:42Z")
Cite, please. Sua ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/3 "2002-04-01T23:50:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Niobium Knight \* > \*\*Religion should be abolished. \*\* …by means of a Holy War 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/4 "2002-04-01T23:56:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SuaSponte \* > \*\*Cite, please. > > Sua \*\* You really want one? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/5 "2002-04-01T23:56:36Z")
Well a soccer match was the trigger for this war: [http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Museum/8350/war.html](http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Museum/8350/war.html) I think we should abolish soccer 😉 . - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Efrem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@Efrem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Efrem)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/6 "2002-04-01T23:57:28Z")
Human intolerant toward the Religion of others is the cause of all wars. Not really, but the first statement isn’t true either. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2002, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/7 "2002-04-01T23:57:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Niobium Knight \* > \*\* > > You really want one? \*\* Absolutely. You just posted an amazingly overbroad and, to my knowledge, utterly incorrect statement. Correct my misunderstanding. Sua ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/8 "2002-04-02T00:02:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by efrem \* > \*\*Human intolerant toward the Religion of others is the cause of all wars. > > Not really, but the first statement isn’t true either. \*\* No, it is usually a person’s religion which governs how they view another religion. ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/9 "2002-04-02T00:03:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SuaSponte \* > \*\* > > Absolutely. You just posted an amazingly overbroad and, to my knowledge, utterly incorrect statement. > Correct my misunderstanding. > > Sua \*\* Yes indeed, it was overbroad to start the debate rolling. It is not “utterly incorrect” though. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/10 "2002-04-02T00:13:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Niobium Knight \* > \*\* > Yes indeed, it was overbroad to start the debate rolling. It is not “utterly incorrect” though. \*\* Of course it is. [http://www.ploughshares.ca/imagesarticles/ACR99/acr99.jpg](http://www.ploughshares.ca/imagesarticles/ACR99/acr99.jpg) lists 25 countries with armed conflicts in 1998. Seven of these conflicts have a religious dimension, and arguably for some, the religious dimension is pretty tangential - ethnicity is the motivating factor: Israel/Lebanon Sri Lanka Sudan Philippines India Indonesia Yugoslavia Egypt. So, perhaps your thesis should have been “Religion is the cause of 1/3 of wars. 1/3 of religions should be abolished.” Sua ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/11 "2002-04-02T00:14:57Z")
How about Northern Ireland/Southern Ireland? You’ve missed that one out for starters. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/12 "2002-04-02T00:18:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Niobium Knight \* > \*\*How about Northern Ireland/Southern Ireland? You’ve missed that one out for starters. \*\* 1. Um, who’s Southern Ireland at war with. 2. Project Ploughshares - the source of the link - appears to be of the opinion that the war in Northern Ireland is over. FWIW, I agree with them. Sua ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/13 "2002-04-02T00:20:27Z")
The Northern Ireland terrorism. It is religioun based. ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/14 "2002-04-02T00:21:31Z")
I live in UK. It doesnt look over to me. ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/15 "2002-04-02T00:22:34Z")
But that is beside the point anyway. ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/16 "2002-04-02T00:22:58Z")
What Northern Ireland terrorism? All the major armed groups have declared a cease-fire. Sua ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/17 "2002-04-02T00:26:04Z")
Yeah? I’ve heard that before… ---
**Author:** ![Efrem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@Efrem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Efrem)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/18 "2002-04-02T00:35:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Niobium Knight \* > \*\*No, it is usually a person’s religion which governs how they view another religion. \*\* No, it is a person’s intolerance which governs how they view the religion of others. How is your tolerance towards the religion of others? Intolerance fuels war. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/19 "2002-04-02T00:37:08Z")
Now, now - We’re getting off track here. **Niobium Knight** : I’ll give you Northern Ireland, just to be standup guy ( **Sua** might be more stubborn, though, addicted as he is to facts 🙂 ). But the fact remains that first of all your statement was grossly inaccurate. Yes, grossly - human history records many religious struggles - but many more for a hundred other reasons. Humans are pack animals by nature and will always fight for territory, metaphysical or actual. Second of all religion seems to some extent to be intrinsic to the human condition. The search for a higher meaning in life leads many ( most ) in this direction. Calling for the abolishment of religion is just ridiculous on practical grounds ( how would one even begin to accomplish this? ) and is nonsensical on philosophical grounds ( since it does seem to be intrinsic ). Now if you want to rant about all the miseries religion has caused, that’s fine. I’ll agree at least some of the time. But your “suggestion” is every bit as silly and unhelpful as my facetious comment about soccer. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Niobium\_Knight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@Niobium\_Knight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Niobium_Knight)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2002, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291/20 "2002-04-02T00:37:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by efrem \* > \*\* > > No, it is a person’s intolerance which governs how they view the religion of others. > > How is your tolerance towards the religion of others? > > Intolerance fuels war. \*\* So does religious intolerance. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religion-is-the-cause-of-all-wars/101291.md?page=2)