also very true. particularly related to reformation stuff. men like john calvin were absolutely on the run from the catholic church, for instance.
To answer the thread starter's question in more detail, I would say that religion is seldom the cause of global conflicts but that nationalism or tribalism are usually the culprits. Religion is the cause during cases of systematic persecution (Spanish Inquisition, Holocaust, Sunni persecution of heretic sects in Pakistan etc.) but I think rarely the cause of armed conflict. Hindu/Muslim strife is relatively recent historically and can be more attributed to the leftover deception and treachery of the colonial institution. Most conflicts are based on nationalism with religion as a rallying point used heavily in rhetoric. The Israel/Palestine conflict has little to do with religion as Christians also live under the occupation. The rhetoric and components of the struggle have little correlation with the root cause.
--> http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2006/07/history-lesson.html A little bit of a history lesson on the history of "Palestine" and the Israeli nation (written by a Jew, so take it with your preferred grain of salt as appropriate), but still quite informative. Also not mentioned in that article is the fact that much of the land was purchased from the Arabs long before the state of Israel was created in 1948. Long story short: Roman emperor destroys Jerusalem and exiles the entire Jewish nation. The place becomes mostly desolate for hundreds of years, populated by a handful of nomadic Arabs. Then in the late 19th century, the Jews came back to their homeland, purchased it and recultivated it, turning a wilderness into an economically viable region. The Arabs subsequently wanted to have their cake back, not pleased with how a bunch of kafirs came in and turned their desolate backyard into a land flowing with milk and honey once again. And as a result, we've had a century of violent conflict, borne out of the following perceptions by the Arab muslims in the region: - The Jews are kafirs (infidels), and according to their religion should be subservient to true Muslim believers. - These kafirs have unjustly stolen their land and are now profiting from it. - These kafirs are oppressing fellow Arabs ("Palestinians") and killing them day by day. - These kafirs are in alliance with America, the "Great Satan". An interesting tidbit is the fact that the town of Hebron (in the present day West Bank) was actually populated by a large Jewish population until a massacre in 1929 by Arabs.
It's always turns into more a cultural clash than the religions themselves. Most religions fundamentally are based on respect and love, and when people need an exuse, pervert it to claim some other "rival" religion is evil or their people are corrupt. Then it's just bull cause they just become political rather than religious. Don't forget if there's no foreign threat, sometimes people just turn on each other in civil wars.
