Why Religion Is Involved

Religion​—A Force For Peace Or For War?

FACED with the fact that the involvement of religions in war is an undeniable reality, the inevitable question is: Why? Many persons feel that the fault lies, not with the religions, but with those who fail to practice what their religions teach. They feel that if more people would apply their religious belief in their daily lives, peace would be attainable.

While there may be some truth in this, let us not overlook the fact that many of those engaging in religious wars do so with such zeal and conviction that they put soldiers in ordinary warfare to shame.

Over the centuries the notion of “holy,” or “just,” war has had an immense influence on the followers of many religions. The Crusades of Christendom and, on the other side, the jihad of Islam are notable examples. Promoters of the Crusades have customarily referred to the Bible to support their arguments. But it is acknowledged by historians that “the view was widely prevalent in the early Church that war is an organized iniquity with which the Church and the followers of Christ can have nothing to do.”​—Hastings’ Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics.

In later times, however, prominent church leaders such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas argued strongly for the case of “just” war. “Augustine (early 400s) created the first great synthesis of Christian faith and the practice of war,” writes theology professor Robert Culver in Christianity Today. This “became the standard position of all major branches of the church from that day to this.”

The doctrine of “just,” or “justified,” war starts with the premise that rulers have the God-given duty and power to maintain law and order in an imperfect society by forcible means​—police, courts, prisons and gallows—​when necessary. If so, then they are also justified in using the army, navy and whatever else to maintain national peace and security when necessary.

It can be easily seen why such a doctrine would meet with great favor among the ruling class. But it also met with popular acceptance because it relieved the ordinary person of the burden of making conscientious decisions. All he needs to do is follow what the state tells him. His cooperation, in fact, may make him feel that he is doing God’s will or that God is on his side. Is this not how practically every soldier at war feels?

Misconception of Millennial Kingdom

“The search for the Millennium, often led by a messianic figure, has sparked numerous revolutionary movements many of which have produced significant political and social innovation,” writes Gunter Lewy in Religion and Revolution.

An especially interesting and illuminating example is the Taiping Rebellion of 1850-64 in China, during a time of foreign oppression and internal corruption. The cult was a strange mixture of Confucianism and Christian Evangelism. The leader, Hung Hsiu-Chuan, claimed that, as a son of God and brother of Jesus, he was sent by God to earth to establish the Tai-ping Tien-kuo, the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace. The movement eventually penetrated 16 of the 18 provinces, captured some 600 cities and occupied Nanking, making it the “heavenly capital” on earth. It has been called “the greatest pre-modern mass movement in history,” and with its downfall went possibly as many as 40 million lives.

In other places and at other times there were the Maccabeans and the Zealots of Judaism, the political Buddhist monks of Burma and Ceylon, the Fifth Monarchy Men of the Puritan Revolution in 17th-century England, the Mahdists of Islam in Sudan, which led to the infamous siege of Khartoum​—the list can go on and on.

Religious leaders continue to call for interreligious cooperation for the sake of world peace. Evidently they feel that if only they can work out their religious differences, peace will be assured. But the facts show that few wars are fought solely over doctrinal differences. Rather, they have much to do with social, economical, territorial, political and numerous other issues. But rather than preventing such wars, religion has become involved in these issues and, in the hands of some misguided clergy, infused multitudes of ‘the faithful’ with such fervor and zeal that they take up arms.

Clearly, religion has failed as a force for peace. But what about God’s Word, the Bible? Is it really a force for peace?

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“Religious wars tend to be extra furious. When people fight over territory for economic advantage, they reach the point where the battle isn’t worth the cost and so compromise. When the cause is religious, compromise and conciliation seem to be evil.”​—Roger Shinn, professor of social ethics, Union Theological Seminary