The War on Religion. And how the haters have it so wrong.

Have you ever heard how religion has been the cause of most of the World's problems, deaths and general mayhem? Yeah, me too. It makes for cute little bumper sticker-ish quotes, but whoever authors those witty and yes, hateful remarks - they must be real bad at math. So I will hold a little arithmetic course along with a basic World History class right here.
It is true that there are those who have used violence in the name of their religion. Witness the Crusades.  But if you have to go back 1000 years to make your point about hateful Christians, you may want to buy a new calendar. There of course was 911. This time hateful Muslims. And at various times extremists of nearly every religion have exploited faith for their own designs and purposes. Religion was not the problem. The exploitation by those masquerading as the devout faithful was. But I stray too far from my point. I promised you a math class, didn't I. Sharpen your number 2 pencils and get ready. Here we go.

Religion has been the cause of most of the world's violent deaths. WRONG. Oppressive regimes have been the cause of most of the World's violent deaths. WW I was not fought defending or promoting religious ideals. (40 million dead) Neither was WW II (another 40 million dead) which was brought about by a madman who professed no religious piety or beliefs. Hitler was raised by a skeptical father & a devout Catholic Mother but ceased to participate in the sacraments after childhood. He used religious rhetoric when it suited him, but was neither a man of faith nor were his conquests committed in pursuit of some religious ideals. The Japanese were told that the Emperor was God on Earth. But they fought for the most basic of reasons - Earthly raw materials to promote and advance their empire.  Both of these regimes believed in the power and complete obedience to the government. (The Fuhrer and the Imperial Emperor) They would have viewed God as competitor for people's allegiance.

The Khmer Rouge of Cambodia slaughtered millions for political ideology not religion. (Rent "The Killing Fields") African tribes wage war upon each other to this day for numerous reasons such as ethnicity not related to any religion. The Korean War in the 1950's, the Vietnam War in the 1960's were once again, wars brought on by brutal  powers, not religious warriors. The Nazi concentration camps, Soviet gulags and the Chinese Traitors prisons doled out pain in order to keep people loyal and fearful to the state - not any church. Even those who practice ethnic cleansing or genocide, do so almost entirely because of age old rifts between tribes, not religion.

Soviet missles were not placed in Cuba back in 1962 to ensure that the U.S. would convert - one way or another - to a specific worship. Nor was the Berlin Wall built to keep Eastern Europeans faithful to the Bible. Nazi Germany. Fascist Italy. Imperial Japan. Communist North Korea. Communist North Vietnam Communist Soviet Union. Communist China, dictators in Iraq, Cuba, Africa, Central America and Venezuela,  - none of these regimes used their military power for anything other than to promote a Godless ideology that dehumanizes the individual in deferrence to the state. The total human casualties both military and civilian for all the wars of the 20th century number near 240 million. I dare say the smallest fraction of that figure is due to religious intolerence and hatred.

If you hate war, then hate the regimes that oppose God and faith in nearly every form - or manipulate it for their own purposes. They are the enemy of peace. They are the intolerent ones who doom the innocent. I don't ask you to believe as I do. I don't require it. It offends me not if you worship differently - or not at all. But please get your facts straight. Millions have died to preserve your right to so. The least you could do in their honor is not re-write their sacrifices ...and their history.