Religion and Misconceptions
Religion is highly respected, valued, and more importantly recognized as one of the guiding aspects in governing constitutions all over the world. In addition, it is unethical and unlawful for an individual to discriminate another based on his or her religious belief. In the working places, one of the obligations of the employer is to honor the religious beliefs of each and every employee. Despite this, there are numerous misconceptions concerning religion, including those which are perceived as unquestionable facts. Among these misconceptions is the idea that literal reading of holy books is the true religious way, religious individuals are inherently anti-science, all religions are guided by absolute truth, and faith cannot be compared with reasoning. However, these misconceptions persist especially due to the fact that they originate from the loudest voices on the extremes, as well as from some thoughtful, educated, and globally recognized individuals. Apparently, there is one common misconception concerning religion that is consistently echoed as an absolute truth, that religion has been the cause of most wars. I strongly believe that this is not factually true.
Religion and Wars
It is very unfortunate for some individuals to argue that religion has been the cause of most wars, yet if they can be asked to name or mention a few of the wars that have been caused by religion they can`t even mention one. In contrast and just the way George Carlin said when he was analyzing the ten commandments, most individuals have lost their lives in the name of God than for any other reason (Pearse 51). For example, a number of Christians have been beheaded by Islamic terrorists just because they fail to betray or compromise their religious beliefs.
The Historical Perspective
In addition, history rarely supports the analogy that religion is the major cause of war, and this is due to a myriad of factors. For example, most of the wars that occurred during the ancient world were based not on religion, but to a larger extent, these wars were based on the aspect of securing trade routes, controlling borders, territorial conquest, as well as responding to an internal challenge such as political authority. In fact, most of the ancient conquerors, whether Greek, Persian, Babylonian, Egyptian, or Roman, always accepted and respected the religious beliefs of the occupants of the territories that they conquered, and more importantly, they used to add the new gods to their own pantheon (Rabbi n.p). In addition, most of the Renaissance and Medieval wars were also not religiously instigated, but were typically about wealth and control as city-states vied for power. The Mongol Asian rampage, where almost 30 million individuals succumbed to the threats of that war, had no religious contribution whatsoever.
Religion and Peace
Subsequently, even in areas where religion is less practiced, it does not mean that peace prevails. For example, based on the report that was released by the Institute of Economics and Peace, having less religion does not make a place or country any better in terms of recording the highest levels of peace. This means that regardless of whether a region has the highest number of atheists, it does not have any contribution to peace levels. For example, most of the nations that have the highest number of atheists, such as the former communist states like the Czech Republic and Russia, were not and still now are not peaceful (Louise n.p). Based on this report, North Korea, which is one of the countries that has the lowest rates of individuals practicing religion across the globe, was ranked one of the ten least peaceful nations in the world.
Perceptions of Religion in the West and East
Consecutively, most of the Western societies have been linking most of the wars being experienced in the Eastern countries with religion, and this is not the case. For example, it was unethical and a discriminatory nature of President Trump to deport most of the Muslims living in the United States with the argument that they are the possible source of terrorist activities in the land. His argument was merely based on the fact that most Muslims come from the Middle East, where the occurrence of war has been the order of the day (Martin 23). Apparently, most scholars argue that what the Western countries think of the Islamic faith is totally different from what the Eastern countries think. Precisely, the West perceives faith to be a personal matter, while the East perceives faith as an inseparable aspect from politics.
Religion and Peace Advocates
It is unfortunate that some individuals can gather every courage and energy that they have and claim that religion is the major cause of war, forgetting that the same religion has been in the forefront in maintaining peace in most warring politicians, tribes, and even nations (Broadhead et al. 49). According to the Institute of Economic and Peace, religion has been one of the strongest bonds that link individuals with peace. In addition, most of the iconic advocates of peace in the world were and are deeply linked to religion. Some of these peace advocates include Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Bishop Desmond Tutu.
Works Cited
Broadhead, Philip, and Damien Keown. Can Faiths Make Peace?: Holy Wars and the Resolution of Religious Conflicts. London: I.B. Tauris " Co, 2006. Print.
Louise Ridley. Does Religion Cause War... And Do Atheists Have Something To Answer For? Posted on 3rd November, 2016. Accessed from, https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/11/14/religions-war-cause-responsible-evidence_n_6156878.html
Martin, David. Does Christianity Cause War?Vancouver, B.C: Regent College Publishing, 2006. Print.
Pearse, Meic. The Gods of War: Is Religion the Primary Cause of Violent Conflict?Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Books, 2007. Print.
Rabbi Alan Lurie. Is Religion the Cause of Most Wars? Posted on 10th June, 2012. Retrieved from, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-alan-lurie/is-religion-the-cause-of-_b_1400766.html
