So...let me see about this. You're saying that when people disobey the moral precepts of their own religion (assuming such exist) by killing other people, they do it in the name of their religion? The same religion that told them not to do it? And you're confident of that?Bit of a strawman really as none were killed in the name of Atheism but Communism whereas the theists killed in the name of their religion.
But when someone who is an avowed, self-proclaimed Atheist does it, he does not do it in the name of Atheism? The same Atheism that provides no moral concepts to condemn war? Yet it had no causal contribution? And you're confident of that as well?
Just asking.
Quite wrong. Not even close.Interesting you single out Islam as I'd guess that Christianity has killed more in its name?
Of all the deaths that have happened through wars, about 7%, were conceivably religiously motivated (generously estimated according to the secular Encyclopedia of Wars http://www.amazon.ca/Encyclopedia-Wars- ... 0816028516). The rest of our wars were caused by other factors, such as economics, geography, tribalism, conquest, desire for wealth, desire for territory, linguistic-cultural tensions, and so on, with far-and -away the number one killer being secular utopian ideologies like Marxism. Check it out.
Now, according to the Encyclopaedia, of those 7% (which is still bad, I admit) half, that is 3.5% were caused by one religion -- Islam. The remaining 3.5% were attributable to all other religions combined -- that means, everything from pagan tribal religions to Buddhism (as perhaps in Myanmar), to Hinduism, to Sikhism, to polytheisms, and so on, to Catholicism, and all other lesser-known nominally or actually Christian groups. Some of those are not even on the radar: for example groups such as the Baptists and Mennonites have no wars to their count at all.
I think you'll agree: statistically, this suggests that Christianity is not a significant cause of war. In fact, even if the statistics of the encyclopaedia were significantly off, if they're anywhere in the ballpark it would suggest the same thing; and at present, even Islam is comparatively a lesser cause of war than secular ideologies have proved to be.
Interesting, I think.