I disagree and agree…
Yes, religion was a scapegoat, but it wasnt the reason for most wars, the reason was politics, power or whatever, but it wasn’t the reason.
the reason for war is not politics. War is the extreme continuity of politics, not its reason.
I agree with RB - Anybody can take a religious book and find something in it that sounds like it gives them the excuse to start a war. Anyone who’s even slightly educated about religion, however, knows that’s not how these books were meant to be interpreted. The ones starting wars are doing so for their own reasons (hatred, wanting power, etc.) and are just using religion as an “excuse” to do so. If there was no such thing as religion, they would just find something else to use.
imo, there’s some true and false…
Religion is a way to impose your politics, so any religious war is sparked by a political motive (cf. Clausewitz “On War”).
With that said, any so-called religious war (such as the ones all over Europe when Lutherianism, Calvinism and Anglicanism came around) cannot spark (nor last) if there aren’t ardent supporters of those religions… If no one TRULY believed that Catholicism was the only true religion, there wouldn’t have been much wars in the 15-16th century in Europe.
It’s the same with the Middle East now. There’s a clash of religion (many would say “war”…) between Orient and Occident, and that’s because some truly believe there’s only one true god…
Lets not pick apart each word, please?
The pupose of an atheist… To do the most drugs, booze, swear alot, steal, kill (if needed), have as much sex as possible.
Basically I sin for the people who cant!
RB> well, I was adressing a part of your LONG post of 2 lines. I’m was not picking apart, you’re basically saying that power among the powerful is what causes war (politics and diplomacy == acceptance of power among the powerful) while I was saying that this is not what causes war. It’s not a cause, it’s an evolution… 
Or did I not understand your point at all?
ummm. nevermind dont worry about it, we are getting tied up in details,
Well, I am an atheist and I beleive that the purpose for us all, religious and not religious, as of yet is nothing. Sure, happyness and success are good goals, but thats what they are: goals. I think that human beings as a whole have no purpose, and we go around living our lives meaninglessly. Of course a religious person might tell me that god has a special purpose for us all; however, I think that they quiver under the possibility that their life is futile and relatively inconsequential, consequently making them religious, so that they can take strength in numbers and a belief in a “higher power.” I think that in the upcoming century that we should strive to bridge gaps in our understanding of eachother’s religions, especially Christianity and Islam, so that we can move on and as a whole, find a suitable purpose for ourselves. So, in short, there is no purpose to my life as of yet and the same goes for every religious person outthere, they just don’t know it. FYI, I’m 16 years old and this is my first post.
