Is religion to blame?

Nearly 100 years ago, in 1930, British philosopher and atheist, Bertrand Russel, leveled a harsh accusation against religion, writing, “Religion prevents us from removing the fundamental causes of war; religion prevents us from teaching the ethics of scientific cooperation in place of the old fierce doctrines of sin and punishment. It is possible that mankind is on the threshold of a golden age; but, if so, it will first be necessary to slay the dragon that guards the door; and this dragon is religion.”

While Russel is wrong, he is not entirely incorrect; violence has been committed in the name of all religious groups. Look at the history of Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and even Buddhists, who are famous for being pacifists, and each group has had followers commit acts of violence.

For Christians, the most violent period in our history was the Crusades. However, in Rebecca McLaughlin’s thoughtful book, “Confronting Christianity,” she quotes historian Thomas Madden, who said the Crusades are “one of the most misunderstood events in Western history.” He says recent accounts of the Crusades are recycled “myths long ago dispelled by historians.”

Despite this, honesty requires everyone who is open-minded to acknowledge that all religious groups have, at some point, had members violently attack those they perceive to be enemies. Does this confirm Russel’s confident assertion that getting rid of religion will make the world a more peaceful place?

Not at all! Russel’s claim can be easily refuted by examining the history of the twentieth century. Communism, an atheistic ideology, opposes religion. Yet communists, according to research by R. J. Rummel, published at the University of Hawaii in 1993, took the lives of 110 million of their own citizens between 1900 and 1987 through torture and harsh imprisonment. This estimate does not include soldiers who fought for their communist countries. To put those numbers in context, during the same period, a total of 38 million died worldwide in battle. This means that during those 87 years, atheist regimes exterminated almost three times more people than those killed on all the battlefields of the world.

More to the point for Christians is what our Founder, Jesus, said, “If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.” (Matthew 5:39, NLT) Perhaps even more dramatic were his actions when one of his disciples slashed off the ear of a person attacking him. “Jesus said, ‘No more of this.’ And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.” (Luke 22:51, NLT)

I am not suggesting Christians fully live up to the ideals Jesus challenged his followers to live by. However, believing Christianity, or other religions, is the primary source of the world’s violence is beyond absurd when one considers actual history. Jesus calls his followers to work toward peace and refuse to participate in acts of violence.