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Religious war

A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (Latin: sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to which religious, economic, ethnic or other aspects of a conflict are predominant in a given war. The degree to which a war may be considered religious depends on many underlying questions, such as the definition of religion, the definition of 'religious war' (taking religious traditions on violence such as 'holy war' into account), and the applicability of religion to war as opposed to other possible factors. Answers to these questions heavily influence conclusions on how prevalent religious wars have been as opposed to other types of wars.

"Holy War" and "Wars of religion" redirect here. For the 16th–18th century conflicts in Europe, see European wars of religion. For the EP by Subhumans, see Religious Wars (EP). For other uses, see Holy War (disambiguation), War of Religion (disambiguation), and Religious conflict (disambiguation).

According to scholars such as Jeffrey Burton Russell, conflicts may not be rooted strictly in religion and instead may be a cover for the underlying secular power, ethnic, social, political, and economic reasons for conflict.[1] Other scholars have argued that what is termed "religious wars" is a largely "Western dichotomy" and a modern invention from the past few centuries, arguing that all wars that are classed as "religious" have secular (economic or political) ramifications.[2][3][4] In several conflicts including the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Syrian civil war, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, religious elements are overtly present, but variously described as fundamentalism or religious extremism—depending upon the observer's sympathies. However, studies on these cases often conclude that ethnic animosities drive much of the conflicts.[5]


According to the Encyclopedia of Wars, out of all 1,763 known/recorded historical conflicts, 121, or 6.87%, had religion as their primary cause.[6] Matthew White's The Great Big Book of Horrible Things gives religion as the primary cause of 11 of the world's 100 deadliest atrocities.[7][8]

The (595–585 BCE)

First Sacred War

The (449–448 BCE)

Second Sacred War

The (356–346 BCE)

Third Sacred War

The (339–338 BCE)

Fourth Sacred War

The (281–280 BCE)

Fifth Sacred War

In Greek antiquity, four (or five) wars were fought in and around the Panhellenic sanctuary at Delphi (the Pythia (Oracle) residing in the Temple of Apollo) against persons or states who allegedly committed sacrilegious acts before the god Apollo.[54] The following are distinguished:


Firestone (2012) stated that in the eyes of ancient Rabbinic Judaism, the Maccabean Revolt (167–160 BCE), the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE) and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE) were "holy wars" or "Commanded Wars" (Hebrew: מלחמת מצווה Milkhemet Mitzvah).[42]

Modern period[edit]

Greek War of Independence[edit]

The Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) has sometimes been considered a religious war between Christians and Muslims, especially in its early phase. The Greek Declaration of Independence (issued on 15 January 1822) legitimised the armed rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in a mix of religious and nationalist terms: 'The war we are waging against the Turks, far from being founded in demagoguery, seditiousness or the selfish interests of any one part of the Greek nation, is a national and holy war (...). It is from these principles of natural rights and desiring to assimilate ourselves with our European Christian brethren, that we have embarked upon our war against the Turks.'[81] Scottish writer Felicia Skene remarked in 1877: 'The Greek war of independence has never been called a religious war, and yet it had a better claim to that appellation than many a conflict which has been so named by the chroniclers of the past. It is a significant fact that the standard of revolt was raised by no mere patriot, but by Germanus, the aged Archbishop of Patras, who came forward, strong in his spiritual dignity (...) to be the first champion in the cause of Hellenic liberty.'[82] Ian Morris (1994) stated that 'the uprising in 1821 was mainly a religious war', but that philhellene Western volunteers joined the war for quite different reasons, namely to 'regenerate' Greece and thereby Europe, motivated by Romantic ideas about European history and civilisation, and Orientalist views of Ottoman culture.[83] The Filiki Eteria, the main organisation driving the rebellion, was split between two groups: one advocated the restoration of the Byzantine Empire on religious grounds, and to encourage all Christians within Ottoman territory to join the Greek revolutionaries; the other advocated the Megali Idea, a large Greek nation-state based on shared language rather than religion.[83] Both of these grand objectives failed, but a smaller version of the latter goal was accepted by most members of the Eteria by 1823, and this goal was generally compatible with the motives of philhellenes who travelled to Greece to enter the war in 1821–23.[83]

Odium theologicum

War of ideas

Bradbury, Jim (2004). . Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 21, 314. ISBN 9781134598472. Retrieved 6 April 2022.

The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare

Burgess, Glenn (1998). . Huntington Library Quarterly. 61 (2). University of California Press: 173–201. doi:10.2307/3817797. JSTOR 3817797. Retrieved 14 March 2022.

"Was the English Civil War a War of Religion? The Evidence of Political Propaganda"

Cliff, Nigel (2011). Holy War: How Vasco da Gama's Epic Voyages Turned the Tide in a Centuries-Old Clash of Civilizations, HarperCollins,  9780062097101.

ISBN

Crowley, Roger (2013). 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West, Hyperion,  9781401305581.

ISBN

Firestone, Reuven (2012). Holy War in Judaism: The Fall and Rise of a Controversial Idea. New York: Oxford University Press. :10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199860302.001.0001. ISBN 9780199860302. S2CID 160968766.

doi

Hashmi, Sohail H. (2012). Just Wars, Holy Wars, and Jihads: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Encounters and Exchanges, Oxford University Press,  9780199755035.

ISBN

Holsti, Kalevi (1991). . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 379. ISBN 9780521399296.

Peace and War: Armed Conflicts and International Order, 1648–1989

Johnson, James Turner (1997).The Holy War Idea in Western and Islamic Traditions, Pennsylvania State University Press,  9780271042145.

ISBN

Kirby, Dianne Religion and the Cold War, Palgrave Macmillan,  9781137339430 (2013 reprint)

ISBN

Kokkonen, Andrej; Sundell, Anders (September 2017). (PDF). Gothenburg: University of Gothenburg. p. 40. Retrieved 22 March 2022.

Online supplementary appendix for "The King is Dead: Political Succession and War in Europe, 1000–1799"

Metcalf, Barbara D.; Metcalf, Thomas R. (2006). (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-68225-1.

A Concise History of India

Miner, Steven Merritt (2003). Stalin's Holy War: Religion, Nationalism, and Alliance Politics, 1941-1945, Univ of North Carolina Press,  9780807862124.

ISBN

Mühling, Christian (2018). Die europäische Debatte über den Religionskrieg (1679-1714). Konfessionelle Memoria und internationale Politik im Zeitalter Ludwigs XIV. (Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für Europäische Geschichte Mainz, 250) Göttingen, Vandenhoeck&Ruprecht,  9783525310540.

ISBN

New, David S. (2013). Holy War: The Rise of Militant Christian, Jewish and Islamic Fundamentalism, McFarland,  9781476603919.

ISBN

Nolan, Cathal J. (2006). . London: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 1076. ISBN 978-0313337345.

The Age of Wars of Religion, 1000–1650: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization, Volume 2

Sharma, Vivek Swaroop (March/April 2018) "What Makes a Conflict 'Religious'? in The National Interest 154, 46–55. Full text available at: .

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/what-makes-conflict-religious-24576

Wars of Religion

Maps of War, History of Religion

Counting Religious Wars in the Encyclopedia of Wars

Religion and the 100 Worst Atrocities in History