Religion as a Cause of War & Violence (AQA GCSE Religious Studies A (8062))

Examples of Religious Wars

• There are examples of religious wars both within scripture and history

  • In the Old Testament, there are many references to God helping the Jews to establish themselves in the Promised Land by winning bloody battles

  • In the Crusades (a battle between Christians and Muslims in the 11th-14th Century), both sides believed that God was helping them to win

• In the past, it was felt that there was a need to forcefully convert others to particular religions and this led to war. There seems to be justification for this in the scriptures

• The belief in holy war has been seen by some as a justification for acts of violence, including terrorism

• Some groups who attach themselves to Islam, such as al-Qaeda and ISIS (IS), have been responsible for waging civil war and performing terrorist acts in the late 20th and early 21st centuries

• Groups that identify themselves with Islam who make threats towards innocent civilians follow a very extreme form of Islam which most Muslims strongly oppose

• In the past, there have been tensions in the UK between denominations of Christianity, especially between Protestants and Catholics. This was most recently evident in Northern Ireland during a period between 1968 and 1998 known as ‘the Troubles’

  • Although many consider this to have been a political conflict rather than a religious one, it led to discrimination and acts of violence against both Protestants and Catholics

Contrast Between Promotion of Peace & Causing War

Religion and the Promotion of Peace

• Many religious people believe that they should actively try to promote peace. They do this directly or indirectly

  • They may choose to work directly with organisations who help to support victims of war

  • They may choose to act indirectly by donating money to causes promoting peace or to actively protest or demonstrate against war

• Some Christians and Muslims promote peace by praying individually and collectively for victims of war or to end war and the suffering it brings

• Christians and Muslims will promote peace in their own relationships by forgiving those who have wronged them and choosing reconciliation over conflict

• Some Christian and Muslim organisations work to promote peace and support the victims of war

  • Pax Christi is a Catholic organisation which works for peaceful conflict resolution

  • The Muslim Peace Fellowship promotes peace, justice and non-violence

Religion as the Cause of War

• In contrast, historically religion has been the cause of some wars. This continues to happen today

• Religion has been the cause of war in the past when one religion tries to convert the inhabitants of another country to change their religion

  • For example, the forced conversion to Christianity of pagan communities in medieval Europe

• Religion has also caused war where there are important religious sites that are disputed between different religions

  • For example, in Jerusalem, there are several holy sites which are important to Jews, Muslims and Christians. This has led to conflict

• When religion is the cause of war it can lead to a greater determination to defeat the enemy because people may feel they are defending their religion and beliefs

• Most wars are not caused by religion. The reasons could be political, economic, ideological or cultural

• Sometimes, religion is used as an excuse for war when there are alternative motives driving the aggression