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I am thinking a lot of it is tied into certain events, espcially of the last decade that really accelerated this. Along with the backlash against the relgious right due to their antics over time.
The quickest way for a society to secularize seems to be when relgion starts entering government too much.
Ok, ok, so I probably should not have said 'Religion is to blame for every conflict in the history of civilization'... I get that. But one should not dismiss the fact that Religion has an underlying theme that cannot be overseen. And that is either the direct, or indirect result in major Conflict, whether that conflict is war, protest or genocide.
Religion and faith play giant roles in people's lives. How can you say that they don't have some kind of role? To some people their religion means more than life itself and are willing to leave life behind for the better good of their religion.
This is better and quite frankly all you had to say in the first place was Religion is a major cause of conflict and I think everyone would agree with you.
BTW for the future, please don't call someone ignorant because they just provided a few examples of wars in American history. That was all that had to be done to demolish your argument. I could have mentioned the various civil wars in Europe, China, India, the Roman Empire and the way back to the wars between the city states of ancient Greece.
Being one of those born after 1980 (just barely) and not really religious, but spiritual instead, I will say--on a personal level--that I rebelled from religion because it was stuffed down my throat as a child. I love my grandmother (may she rest in peace) and one of my aunts to death, but I just felt forced to go to church, forced to join the choir, and forced to go to services that weren't in my heart. I know religion was the one thing many of our older citizens could take in and not have it taken away from them, so they took pride in it. However, I have always been the type to step back from a situation when it is just forced on me like that. I do believe in a Higher power, I pray daily, and I don't mind going to church every now and then. Being that religious though is just not a part of me, but as I am nearing 30 and seeing things differently, maybe that will change in my later years. I suppose it's the same for many people in my age range.
I'd never judge anyone for being spiritual/religious/athiest. I like the diversity of our civilization. If everyone went to church or if everyone was an athiest, it'd be like drinking nothing but water your whole life--nothing exciting about that!
Here in the Southeast, I will say there are a lot of youngsters who practice religion. Organizations such as FCA are very popular in high schools down here. A school I worked at had a Bible Club and it was slam packed every time they met. It's just all about priorities.
Agreed, but what does that have to do with my post? I am countering someone who made a incorrect comment that "Religion is the cause of EVERY major conflict in the history of the world". Page 2 post 14.
You're right, but religious wars tend to be more brutal, stomach turning wars. I'm not saying that other wars that have no relation with religion aren't sickening, but their main goal isn't to exterminate a group of innocent people the way Al Qaeda and Nazi's were/are forced to do..
I grew up strict Independent Fundamental Baptist. Everything was based on a strict us vs. them black and white mentality. I remain Christian because of fear of not only hell but punishment in this life. The mantra was always "if you obey God he will bless you and if you do not obey he will curse you". I have tried to get away from that upbringing but I simply cannot, especially since my relationship with my family depends on at least paying lip service to the church's teachings whenever i am in communication with them. The popular Independent Fundamental Baptist explanation for the non-religiosity of this generation seems to stem on the fact that this generation has never known truly hard times therefore doesn't feel the need for God the older generation does. They say when a nation receives abundant blessings from God this nation has since World War II, over the course of the generations they slowly move away from God until it gets to a point where God must bring judgment, either wiping out a nation or bringing it into bondage. Whether this is true I don't know. I heard countless sermons growing up that God would rain down fire and brimstone and wipe America completely off the face of the earth if same sex marriage was to ever be legalized in this country. So far that has not happened.
As for this generation's view on religion, most young people are not religious because of the fact religious was shoved down our throats so much growing up. Most people didn't have to deal with it to the extent that I did, but it will still forced upon them. Religion is a personal matter and when you try to beat somebody over the head with it, it turns them away from it rather than makes them want to be part of it. Those in the younger generation who are religious generally gravitate towards non-traditional churches. Non-denominational (Bible) churches seem to be the big thing with the younger generation who choose religion. Southern Baptist, Independent Baptist, and especially mainline Protestant are all in big time decline with this generation. I happen to think its because mainstream Christianity in America has refused to adapt to the changing times and especially has refused to adapt to a nation that is no longer dominated by the white, protestant, heterosexual male. The millennial generation is a very diverse generation, much moreso than any preceding American generation, and Christianity as a whole has pretty much turned its cold shoulder to this entire demographic. They should not be surprised by what is happening.
I think it has to do with getting older, I know we are from the same town in New Mexico and growing up, alot of the people I knew werent religious, but now on their facebooks it seems that almost all of them are now religious or they read the bible or stuff like that, Portales is pretty much the bible belt and many people have family members who are religious who pass it on down to them. When you are younger, you think you know it all, all that matters is girls/guys, clothes,partying,what to do on Saturday night,school, or a career, its usually after everyone has all their priorities straight that they become more focused on God.
Most of my family in Portales is the same, I got a few aunts and a grandma who are very dedicated to church, they try recruiting the whole town pretty much but they are convincing the nephews and the nieces to get into it. I went to church very often when I was young, although I always had my christian beliefs, church took a backseat to a teen lifestyle that I was beginning to explore.
Ok, ok, so I probably should not have said 'Religion is to blame for every conflict in the history of civilization'... I get that. But one should not dismiss the fact that Religion has an underlying theme that cannot be overseen. And that is either the direct, or indirect result in major Conflict, whether that conflict is war, protest or genocide.
Religion and faith play giant roles in people's lives. How can you say that they don't have some kind of role? To some people their religion means more than life itself and are willing to leave life behind for the better good of their religion.
I see what you're saying, I think. The last post I typed I missed this response as I type slow.
Hittite Conquests
Assyrian Conquests
Persian Greek Wars
Alexander the Great's Conquests
The Wars between Alexander's successors
The Peloponnesian War
The Punic Wars
Roman Conquests/Wars, Servile Wars, The Phyrric War, Germanic Wars, Gaul Conquests, British Conquests, Boudica, Herman the German, and on and on...
Roman Border Wars, Vandals, Goths, Visigoths, Huns (Chalons, one of the bloodiest battles in history, war dead wouldn't add up like that again til WW1), British Barbarians, on and on...
Viking Invasions
Mongol Wars
British Invasions, Battle of Hastings, British Wars, Scotland-England, Civil War, War of Roses...
100 Years War
30 Years War
7 Years War
War of Spanish Succession-Queen Ann's War
War of Austrian Succession
American Revolution
French Revolution
Polish Wars-Russia, Turks, Mongols, Swedes, Partitions...
Napoleonic Wars...
War of 1812
South American Wars of Independence-Simon Bolivar, Gran Colombia (Soon to be followed by inter South American nation wars, Civil Wars, Revolutions)
Mexican American War
US Civil War (States Rights, religion was not the main driver, please)
Crimean War
Scramble for Africa, African Conquests, Zulu War, Italian Ethiopian War...
Greek War of Independence
Opium Wars
Boxer Rebellion
Franco Prussian War
Chilean Civil War
Spanish American War
Russo Japanese War
WW1
Russian Revolution/Civil War
Polish Soviet War
Sino Japanese War
Russian Japanese Mongolian War
WW2 (Anyone who tries to boil this down to just, Hitler hated the Jews, has a terrible and limited grasp of history, if that's all you think it was, it was a million times more complex than you can even imagine)
Korean War
French Indochina War
Vietnam War
Cambodian Civil War
Cambodian Vietnamese War
Iran Iraq War
Soviet Afghanistan War
Falklands War
Grenada War
Iraq Kuwait Invasion
Gulf War
Sierra Leone Civil War
Republic of the Congo Civil War
Chechen Wars
Iraq War
Second Congo War and continuing conflicts
Russia Georgia War
If the list seems disjointed or out of order, I was just naming wars as they came to me while I thought through history, anyway...
Ancient history, modern, and middle, I could go on and on and on. And please don't act like, so many so called religious wars weren't still very political in nature. I'm sorry, but, "most or all major wars in history were caused by religion," and, "religion caused the bloodiest/bloodier wars," ideas are BS. I really hate when people do this, I'm not religious, but come on seriously, that's BS. Alotta people really dislike or hate religion for alotta reasons, personal, historic, whatever. I'm not saying it's not justified, but when you say things like that, you're just being ignorant and just stupid. Yes you hate it, but come on, you don't need to go so far just to prove your point or bring people to your side.
It's like when we were graduating in my last high school and we had to do it in a church, and some of the kids were just like, ooohh well in a church that's so horrible **** religion man no way it's this and that and bla bla bla, it's just a frikken building we were using. I mean, I wonder how that kid felt about the academic dress we were wearing which is derived from clerical medieval clothing, scrap that too right? I understand alotta people have a justified disdain for religion, but just don't be so ignorant about it, throwing around such huge accusations and lies, frikken please... I'm done.
I think that one's debatable. The original Boxers were angry about ancestral tombs being effected by the, Western-built, railroads and the influence of Christian missionaries on religious traditions. They also had strong economic and nationalistic motives, but I think they were at least semi-religious in inspiration.
Otherwise I think you're mostly right in the list.
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