Is Religion An Absolute Cause Of War?

Wars have been fought in the past and they will be fought in the future too, keeping in mind the war of being and becoming the superpower. However, the evident reason behind these wars can never be completely traced back because the history keeps on changing and people never fear back from manipulating the history according to their own suitable grounds of belief systems.    

It is so because various studies suggest that in the mediaeval times , some wars were fought over natural resources ,while others were fought over economic gain, some were fought over nationalism issues, some were defensive wars while others were fought with the aim to bring paradigm shifts , which were called the revolutionary wars.

Figure 1. Workstation Glory.

However, the very question ''whether religion is the main cause behind wars?'' is an epistemological one and remains suspicious. Religion was formulated , solely, by man so that the poor man , who is anything but always less of perfection, could connect himself with the ''Overseer'', the omniscient, the omnipotent, and the omnipresent , so that he walks on the right path and could differentiate between the right conduct and the wrong conduct by being guided rightly under the light of that ''Great Overseer''. But unfortunately, people in power and authority went on to politicize and thus, degrade the very meaning of religion by virtue of which the innocent beings were diverted towards hatred, violence and alienation.

The very motive of people practicing various religions such as Hinduism, Islam or, Christianity was to contribute towards cooperation , good faith , brotherhood and unity among their peers but when the aspect of politics was attached to it , a division or a notion of alienation came into the picture. In this alienated picture, the one who were privileged with wealth and power became the superior groups such as the leading party or the leader in power and authority whereas the unprivileged ones became the inferior groups such as the general public or the people of kingdom. The superior group went on dominating , materializing, and slaving the inferior group in the name of religion because everything that the leader in power would manipulate , was firmly believed, accepted and thus, was acted upon by the inferior ones , irrespective of the anonymity of rational grounds in those decision-makings. Some followed up with the leader out of the sense of sincerity towards their ruling leader while others were forced to follow up and the remaining had no choice left.

Figure 2. Diverse religions portrayed above are Islam, Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, Bahaism, Sikhism, Judaism, Christianity , African Nature Religions, etc.

But if we introspect over and over again, all of these would turn into a huge contradiction because religion has not always been the fundamental cause of war in the human history , for instance; 'The Winter War' ( 1939 -1940) was fought when Stalin and his Soviet Army tried to mine Nickle and Finland but Finnish refused , then the Soviet Union waged the war on , 'Serbo-Bulgarian War' (1885-1886) was fought between Bulgaria and Serbia over a small border town , 'World War I' (1914-1918) was fought over extreme loyalty and patriotism issues in which many countries got involved , 'Russian Civil War' (1917-1923) was fought followed by the Russian Revolution , 'Korean War (1950-1953) was fought between South Korea and North Korea. Whereas 'religion' ,no doubt , could be only a generative factor of many wars fought so far but cannot be the absolute one rather it has always been made and turned into an ''absolute rigorous cause behind wars'' by none other than the people in power.

 Figure 3. Alamut's walls were stormed in 1256 by a Mongol assault.

Figure 4. The battle between East and West came to an end, when Constantine, in 312,defeated Maxentius' army and won the Roman Empire.         

On the other hand, very often wars have also led to increased religiosity and the great instance of it is ; after the Kalinga War , Ashoka the Great realized that he has taken so many innocent lives and has slaughtered them mercilessly to death as soon as he walked across the battlefield. He realized that violence can never bring peace and pure bliss in life no matter how evil your enemy is rather it can only be possible by walking on the path of love, kindness and compassion. After this huge realization, Ashoka gave up war and went on to adopt and practice the great teachings of Buddhism and became a Buddhist scholar from thereon. 

Figure 5. The fig tree is known as the ''Tree of Wisdom'' as has been contemplated by today's Buddhist scholars.                                                                                             

Figure 6.Tibetan Buddhism.

                                                                                                                

If one were to follow and practice a religion with one's open heart , good faith and true envision , then one should always choose and prioritize the ''religion of humanity'' over and above other religions. The ''religion of humanity'' can be described as a religion of unity, kindness, compassion, brotherhood and benevolence , which the race of humanity must practice , solemnly, with complete self-determination and self-discipline. The religion of humanity can be considered as a broader perspective which covers all the other kinds of religions , be it Buddhism , Jainism, Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity or, Islam. It is important for the human race to follow the religion of humanity as their first and foremost duty because apparently it can also be used as a weapon to end violence, brutality and ruthlessness , both within the boundaries of a nation and among various nations, which would ultimately lead to the formation of a better world to live in, through negotiations and peaceful decision-making policies. However, it is not going to come easy rather such a tough but a significant , substantial, and a beautiful association is only possible , if we the individuals at large, would begin to follow the religion of humanity both as our means as well as our ends of our lives. Therefore, the concept of religion of humanity would remain merely as an imaginary concept unless and until implemented and executed , thoughtfully by the human race.

 

Figure 7. The Golden Rule unfolds that the sole aim of diverse religions is the same and the one i.e., '' to follow the religion of humanity'', irrespective of differences in their practices, rituals and ways of attaining Salvation.

Moreover, many studies and debates put forth that if any wars any further are going to take place in the near future, then it wont be the cause of religion or, territorial issues rather it will be the cause of water. The problem of water scarcity is growing and becoming worse with each day's count and the day is no far when only the privileged wealthy would be able to buy water from stores and the poor unprivileged ones would not be even able to see a drop of it and would starve to death. Therefore, we will have to think, plan and act upon ourselves now in this given moment so that our future is saved both for us as well as for our future generations, by practicing ''water conservation'' and ''sustainable development''. Thus, it can be concluded that religion can be considered only and solely as a provoking generative cause of war and violence and not the absolute and the fundamental one.

Written By :

Varsha Rout