The irony is, historic precident points to religion as the cause for more deaths by violence than any other cause. And likely more than EVERY other cause combined.

So while it is the same idea, Dawkins isn't going to do it by a genocide or jihad or inquisition, but instead hopefully by enlightenment. I thought it over, apparently you haven't yet.

8/16/2007 11:25:26 AM

He's not trying to "get rid of them," xvang, you goofball, he's trying to get rid of the impetus.

8/16/2007 1:33:21 PM

Quote :

"The irony is, historic precident points to religion as the cause for more deaths by violence than any other cause. And likely more than EVERY other cause combined."

Back that up, oh wait, you can't.

Hell, in total numbers, religious violence can't even compete with the 20th century mass killings that were done in the name of ideology. (Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, the Khmer Rough, etc.).

8/16/2007 1:51:36 PM

Large parts of hitlers propoganda were religiously and ethnically based.

Stalin was just a fucking mad-man through and through, Pol Pot was also ideological genocide.

Thinking about it more, you are definitely right. Just between Stalin and Mao Zedong's purges, well over a hundred million people probably died, well more than any religious wars/hunts.

But here's a few big baller religiously based genocides:

Taiping Rebellion ~20 million
Timur Lenk ~20 million
WWII ~55 million (granted likely only 1/4 or less can be attributed to religious or ethnic persecution)
Crusades: ~2 million
Witch Hunts ~50,000
Spanish Inquisition ~300,000
St.Bartholomew's Massacre ~60,000
Arab Outbreaks (660-1100ad) ~750,000
Vijayanagar massacre's ~500,000
French Revolution ~500,000
Biblical Atrocities ~1.2 million


And there are hundreds of other recorded mass killings in the tens of thousands.

So naw, it's not the worst by far, but sure as hell has had a massive and prolonged impact.

8/17/2007 2:43:48 AM

why would you state that wwII was a religiously-based genocide and then immediately backstep and disclaim yourself? that's a retarded way to try to make a point. most of your numbers are little more than a result of radicalism, be it religious or political in its orientation.

I really hate it when noen jumps into interesting threads and starts dueling with everyone

8/17/2007 8:14:36 AM

^because I made an overstated claim and then took the time to think about it. I apologize for that, hence why I took the time to read up on it all to see what the real deal was and present it.

the problem (and my point incidentally) is that religious brainwashing/doctrine is just as bad as the political variety. And the political kind is slowly dying out as people become more and more educated and as the world becomes more and more intertwined through commerce, shared history and culture.

the religious kind however is still going pretty strong, and is losing a much more hard fought battle to reason and logic. think of the difference it would make in the world if all religions called for an end to religious persecution and martrydom.

8/17/2007 12:01:18 PM

French Revolution? WWII? Those two had zero to do with religion. One of thing that Dawkins often says is that Hitler was a Roman Catholic, which is just silly. In fact, it makes Dawkins somewhat of a hypocrite since one of his big things is not labeling children into a certain religion. Hitler was no more a Catholic than Dawkins is an Anglican.

Regardless, religion is just another way to exercise power. It is no worse than any other used throughout history.

Funny thing about your list, by far the bloodiest, most violent religion is Islam.

8/17/2007 4:58:41 PM

^Hitler was definitely not an overly religious person, but his propoganda WAS fueled by ethnic and theocratic dogma and hatred.

And the French Revolution had a LOT to do with religion. The church was an extremely powerful and feared institution, and it largely held the control of the people before the revolution.

And I'm not targeting any one religion, I think ALL organized religion is inherently flawed and bad. I can only think of a few sects that haven't ever been instigators of conflict, but they aren't imperialist religions like Christianity and Islam.

8/17/2007 6:26:59 PM