Religion and Warfare: Yesterday and Today

A religious war is a war justified by religious differences. It can be the acceptable forces of one state that has a well-known religion against those of another state with either a different religion or a different section within the same religion, or, at the level below a state, it can be a faction motivated by religion attempting to spread its faith by violence either within the state or elsewhere. The French Wars of Religion, the Crusades, and the Reconquista are often cited historical examples. While there are certainly wars fought primarily on religious grounds, wars frequently have multiple and complex causes. Saint Augustine is credited as being the first to detail a "Just War" theory within Christianity, whereby war is justifiable on religious grounds. Saint Thomas Aquinas elaborated on these criteria and his writings were used by the Roman Catholic Church to regulate the actions of European countries (Sherman & Salisbury). In modern times religious differences are frequently used as shorthand for cultural and historical differences between combatants, giving the impression that the conflict is primarily about religious differences. For example, The Troubles in Northern Ireland is frequently seen as a conflict between Catholic and Protestant. However, the more basic cause is the attachment of Northern Ireland to either the Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom. As the native Irish were mostly Catholic, and the later English-sponsored immigrants mainly Protestant, the terms become shorthand for the two cultures. It cannot be denied that religion does play a part in the conflict, since churches are used as organizing points for demonstrations, and Protestants are far more likely to oppose union with the Catholic-dominated Republic. The Christian Holy War, although an apparent oxymoron, has taken a major role in developing the history of the religion. Religion and warfare, during this time period, seemed to mutually coincide. The Cross of Christ, for example, has been illustrated quite often upon crests of shields, in the plating of armor or even as engravings upon weapons (Backman). This was traditional of the Crusaders from the 10th to the 13th century. The Cross of Christ became a powerful symbol during the Medieval Ages; serving as an emblem of spiritual struggle for peace and righteousness. This sign of true martyrdom in the New Testament signified a refusal to submit to the punishment or the sentence of death (Pryor). This was all carried out in the name of Christ. During the Crusades the soldiers would sacrifice their body by engaging in physical combat. Thus the cross became a holy sign which also portrayed obedience and honor. Those who fought in the name of God were recognized as “Milites Christi”: warriors or knights of Christ (Tyerman). The Christian religion was an icon of military success to the religious followers. They believed that victory was achieved through divine intervention or aid from Almighty God. Fighters took great pride in their beliefs and became the new conceptual class known as the Templar. These blessed warriors pursued both opposing armies and the heretic religions and cults of the time, and therefore were highly admired by the Church and the State (Tyerman). Strategically, these enemies would be one and the same. A good example of this was their foe, the Lombard Legions to the west. They were portrayed as a common enemy of Rome and also a satanic Pagan tribe as well. The ideals and duties of religion were used as tools to legitimize warfare. Christianity essentially gave the armies an excuse for their conquests of “liberation”. However, the Crusaders did not make much progress along the lines of liberating towns and villages. Instead, their holy conquests turned out to be a long, violent series of raids for territorial expansion, trade and world-wide dominance, all in the name of God. Jihad is to strive or struggle in the way of God, and is sometimes referred to as the sixth pillar of Islam, although it has no official status (Esposito 2005) Jihad has a wider meaning in Islamic literature. It can be striving to lead a good Muslim life, praying and fasting regularly, being an attentive and faithful spouse and parent or working hard to spread the message of Islam (Esposito 2003) Jihad is also known, however, to Muslim and Christian alike, in its meaning of violent struggle to bring about a Muslim society throughout the world (Backman). While there have been mujtahids (Islamic scholars) who have argued that Jihad is not supposed to include aggressive warfare, they have written their treatises in places such as Syria, Eastern Anatolia, and Mesopotamia, all of which were wrenched violently from the Persian or Byzantine Empires. While much of the Western half of the Roman empire has been returned to Christian rule (with the complete exception of North Africa), Islam strived mightily to dominate that as well in its first several centuries. It succeeded in conquering Spain, much of France, and nearly all of the Mediterranean islands. Muslims attacked as far afield as Ireland, and twice laid siege to Rome itself. In Muhammad's time, the pagans of the Arabian Peninsula were asked for submission to Islam as a condition for the continuation of their lives. Jews, Christians, and the tiny and historically hazy religious sect called Sabeans were forced to become dhimmis, second-class citizens, pay a special tax, jizya, and submit to the political authority of Islam or suffer death. The only exception to the "dhimmitude or death" option for Christians and Jews was a special provision for Ethiopia. This provision was granted, according to Hadith, by Muhammed in recognition of the charity and protection shown him by Ethiopians during a time of particular need. While the entirety of the world is considered in Muslim tradition to be "Dar al-Harb", the house of war, Ethiopia was granted unique status as "Dar al-Hudna", the house of truce. While this exception was taken to be in perpetuity, it is hoped, of course, that Ethiopia will become Muslim through peaceful means. Islamic scholars have different opinions on Jihad, however, there is a consensus that armed struggle against persecution and oppression, defined as the rule of any authority counter to the principles of Islam, will always continue. The Crusades were a series of military campaigns—usually sanctioned by the Papacy—that took place during the 11th through 13th centuries. Originally, the goal was to recapture Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Muslims and at supporting the Byzantine Empire against the Muslim Seljuq expansion into Asia Minor. The fourth crusade however was diverted and resulted in the conquest of Constantinople. Later on, Crusades were launched against other targets, either for religious reasons, such as the Albigensian Crusade, the Northern Crusades, or because of political conflict, such as the Aragonese Crusade. In 1095, at the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II raised the level of war from Bellum iustum ("just war"), to bellum sacrum (Christian). There have many wars about and because of religious’ believes. In the following paragraphs you will learn a little bit more about some of these wars. To start off is the Thirty Year War. In the first half of the 17th century, German states, Scandinavia (Sweden, primarily) and Poland were beset by religious warfare. Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism figured in the opposing sides of this conflict, though Catholic France did take the side of the Protestants but purely for political reasons. The real losers in the war, however, were the German people. Over 300,000 had been killed in battle. Millions of civilians had died of malnutrition and disease, and wandering, undisciplined troops had robbed, burned, and looted almost at will. Most authorities believe that the population of the Empire dropped from about 21,000,000 to 13,500,000 between 1618 and 1648. Even if they exaggerate, the Thirty Years War remains one of the most terrible wars in history.
In the Jewish religion, the expression Milhemet Mitzvah (Hebrew:"commandment war") refers to a war that is both obligatory for all Jews (men and women) and limited to within the borders of the land of Israel. The geographical limits of Israel, and therefore of this religious war, are detailed in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the TaNaK, especially Numbers 34:1-15 and Ezekiel 47:13-20. Elsewhere in the Bible, it is abbreviated as "from Dan to Beersheba".The meaning of this concept to the contemporary State of Israel is debated. There is no reference to Milhemet Mitzvah in official documents from the Israeli government or defense forces.
The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the more than thirty years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of disaffected tribesmen was crushed. In all, eighteen battles were fought in what is now northwestern Germany. They resulted in the incorporation of Saxony into the Frankish realm and their conversion from paganism to Christianity. The Saxon Wars have been described as a religious war (Strimiska). Many wars that are not religious wars, often still include elements of religion such as priests blessing battleships. Also differences in religion can further stir up a war being fought for other reasons. Historically temples have been military targets that are destroyed to weaken the morale of the opponent, even when the war itself is not being waged over religious ideals.
So as you can see there have been many religious wars. Rather you believe in the Star of David, the Cross or , the Crescent Moon, religions have been at conflict and will continue until we, as a planet, realize that God, Elohim or Yahweh are one in the same, the mighty creator. Such as love thy neighbor, to unto others as you would have done to you, thou shall not kill, are just simple rules that God had given us as a planet to follow. And, yet we cannot do that!

References

Backman,R. Clifford: The World of Medieval Europe,Oxford University Press, New York, 2003, Pp. 79.

Christian Jihad: The Crusades and Killing in the Name of Christ

Esposito, John. (2005), Islam: The Straight Path, Pp.93

Esposito, John. (2002). Unholy war: terror in the name of Islam, Oxford University Press, US. Pp.26

Pryor, Francis. Britain A.D.: A Quest for Arthur, England and the Anglo Saxons. Harper Collins Publishers, London, 2004. Pp. 103.

Tyerman, Christopher. The Crusades: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, London, 2004. Pp. 63.

Tyerman, Christopher. The Invention of the Crusades. Oxford University Press, Basingstoke, Hampshire.Pp.15

Sherman, Dennis. & Salisbury, Joyce. “The West in the World” Volume I: To 1715. MrGraw Hill, 2006.Pp.274.

Strimiska, Michael F. [2003]. "The Evils of Christianization: A Pagan Perspective on European History", in Terrie Waddell (editor): #Cultural Expressions of Evil and Wickedness: Wrath, Sex, Crime. Editions Rodopi B.V...