For the folks with a negative opinion of religion. . .?

[labowu]

One of the main arguments I see put forth against organized religion is that it has been the cause of numerous wars and bloodshed over the millenia. Do you believe in the absence of religion humans would have refrained from war and lived peacefully or just have found another excuse to wage war and gain power from their neighbors?

[Godless AM - VT - VA]

I think they would have found another reason, but I also think that it would have happened less often. There have been an inordinate number of wars fought over religion, far too many for the correlation to not have some kind of meaning.

I also think that, wars aside, a lot of lives still would have been spared if religion hadn't been part of the picture. When you consider even the number of people who were burned and beheaded by Mary Tudor, for example, just for not getting with the Catholic program, you can see how many people one religious person is capable of killing. At that time, you could be burned at the stake just for not keeping your eyes on the Host when it was raised during Mass. If Mary Tudor had not been Catholic, none of those executions would have happened because she expressed very clearly her feeling that she had no other choice, given her religious beliefs, and that there was no other reason for it.

[Neo]

I don't think anybody believes that. Religion is unhealthy, but its not the sole cause of war in general.

Millennia is spelled with two n's.

[Beth2204]

So if you ARE religious, how can you justify all the wars and bloodshed over the millenia, that is performed in the name of whichever god?

Wars are wars, but the majority of wars with no purpose have been fought in the name of religion.

[Anthony C]

there is always oil..

-Christian