Quote:
Originally Posted by jammies
Really? Where did I say that?
Religion was a *necessary* cause of the Crusades, but not by any means the only cause. If you read back and look at what I actually say as opposed to what you assume I am saying, I took issue with the idea that Crusades had, and I quote, "nothing to do with religion." No where have I claimed that religion was the only cause of this, or any other war. On the other side, YOU have claimed that almost all wars are politically or economically motivated, and then you accuse me of being overly simplistic? How ironic.
Religion has been a contributing factor to many wars, from the Jewish revolts against the Romans, to the Crusades, to the European conquests in the New World, to the Arab-Israeli wars of the last 60 years. Anyone claiming it's the only factor in any particular war is a fool, agreed, but anyone claiming it is not a contributing factor throughout history is equally deluded.
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Then if I have mischaracterized your comments, you have mischaracterized mine as I have never said that it was not a contributing factor. The Jewish revolts (fighting against occupation), Arab-Isreali wars (Survival of relatively new Isreali state in the middle of an Arab dominated region) however are all great examples of overtly politically motivated conflicts. The European conquests of the New World were also economically motivated for but religion plays a big part of this as the riches of the new world were used to fund the wars of religion before the Peace of Westphalia.