Reasons for War (AQA GCSE Religious Studies A (8062))

Reasons for War - Greed

What is war?

• War is an organised conflict usually consisting of intense violence carried out by one state or states against another state or states

• Historically, there have been over 10,000 recorded wars or battles in the world

• There have been two world wars which involved several different countries

  • The First World War which happened between 1914 and 1918 and led to the deaths of between 15 to 22 million people

  • The Second World War happened between 1939 and 1945 and led to the deaths of up to 75 million people

• There are various reasons why countries go to war including, greed, self-defence, religion, honour and retaliation 

• Sometimes, the perpetrator of war can mislead people about the reasons for war to justify their actions. For example, they may claim it for religious or political differences when in fact it is related to greed or the need for power

Reasons for War - Greed

• Throughout history, war has been used as a way to gain more land or territory, or even to regain land lost in a previous war

• Greed can also lead countries to invade others to control important resources, such as oil

  • For example, in 1990 Saddam Hussain the leader of Iraq ordered his army to invade Kuwait. Many people believe this was because the country has large oil reserves

• In this way, rich and powerful countries can get richer and more powerful, potentially causing poverty in the defeated country when their main source of income is taken away

• Most religious teachings would not support this as a reason because greed comes from selfishness, these are both characteristics not approved of by religions

• Considering the numbers of soldiers and casualties in war, greed could never be seen as a justifiable reason for it

• Christianity warns against greed. The Bible says:

Reasons for War - Self-Defence

• Whenever one country attacks another, it expects to meet some resistance from the invaded country

• Most people consider fighting in self-defence to be morally acceptable and believe they have a right to defend the values, beliefs and ways of life that their country lives by

• During the Second World War, the UK fought to defend itself against Nazi invasion and also to help defeat what they saw as an evil threat to the whole of Europe

• In addition to defending their own country, many people believe it is acceptable to fight to defend other nations under threat

• Although there is nothing explicit in the New Testament relating to fighting in self-defence, many Christians believe that justification can be made for it provided all other ways of solving the problem have been attempted

• The Qur'an permits fighting in self-defence, but Muslims are unlikely to agree to it unless other ways of solving the problem have been attempted and failed

Reasons for War - Retaliation

• Retaliation happens when one country carries out what is seen as an act of aggression and the victims want revenge on the aggressors 

  • For example, in 2001 an international coalition led by the USA invaded Afghanistan to destroy the terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda following the multiple terrorist attacks carried out in America on September 11th of the same year

  • The First World War began as retaliation against a political assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand

• Retaliation is often a spontaneous reaction which leads to the escalation of a situation, and often smaller incidents develop into war

• Religions would all say that peaceful negotiation to resolve issues are better than simple retaliation because they diffuse rather than exacerbate issues

• When Jesus was asked about retaliation he said,

• Meaning that people should not respond to violence with violence

• Other Christian teachings also seem to teach against retaliation

• Although many Christians are able to follow this advice in much of their daily interaction with other people, when it comes to situations of war, they find it much more difficult

• Islam teaches that retaliation should be measured

• Muslims believe that God offers innumerable rewards for those who choose reconciliation over retaliation