The Effects of Religious Intolerance in Societies
In the world we are in today, every continent, city, and smallest village has some sort of belief set. Religious belief frequently has the most impact over societies with religion’s ability to mold social laws, boundaries, and sometimes hold entire sway over government systems. However, because religion is left to interpretation of its audiences, religion itself can only be as peaceful or as violent as its followers make it. When religious beliefs are paired with religious intolerance, and people willing to act on that intolerance, religious beliefs can take a turn towards violence, death, and destruction. Religious intolerance is being unwilling to tolerate another 's religious beliefs or practices
In 1478, Spain’s Monarchs Ferdinand II and Isabella I established the Spanish Inquisitions, with the intension of maintaining Catholic orthodoxy in their country and territories. The inquisitions were prisons intended to “convert” and punish people of Jewish and Islamic beliefs or anyone else who disagreed with the ideals of the Catholic Church. During the 350 year time period, am estimated total of around 125,000 prisoners of the Inquisitions were “investigated”, tortured and starved. In 1095 Pope Urban II convinced many Christians that is not a sin if they kill non-Christians or non-believers. Urban II then proclaimed that all Christians who were willing to fight Muslims in the holy lands, would be forgiven of their past sins and would be accepted into heaven and so began the crusades. Despite the many beliefs that Muslim and Christian’s share, the crusaders felt justified by God in the violent slaughter of Muslim peoples. In retaliation, the Muslims formed their own crusades against the Christian peoples. It is believed that when the crusades finally ended in 1291, the total death toll reached somewhere between 1 million and 3 million people, yet religious struggles over dominance in the Holy Lands still continue even
In Buddhism’s most basic principles, it is understood that all beings have a right to live, life should respected and people should refrain from taking all life. Yet, currently in the country of Myanmar, extreme Buddhist monks are preaching religious superiority and leading a genocide on Myanmar’s minority religious people, especially Muslims, down to the women and children. To make matters worse Myanmar’s governing officials (exclusively Buddhist) have passed laws that assist in the persecution of minorities. There are some local reports that government authorities are tracking down and arresting religious minorities without reason. Then those who are arrested haven’t been seen or heard from since. With the known death toll of Myanmar Muslims and other minority groups increasing and the Myanmar government publicly admitting to “misplacing” huge numbers of people who fall into the religious minority, suspicions that the Myanmar government is assisting in this religious genocide have justifiably
During The First Crusade peasants and knights alike fought for God and glory travelling east towards Jerusalem. In 1099 Christian forces reached Jerusalem and prepared for recapture. The western crusaders attacked the city and gained control of it. During the capture of Jerusalem, the crusading forces massacred not only Muslims, but Jews and even other Christians. Men women and children alike, no one was safe from these crusaders who did what they wanted. They butchered Jerusalem’s inhabitants in the streets, without care of what God might think (which is ironic considering this w...
The emperor of the Byzantine Emperor was upset with Turks encroaching on his empire. He went to the Pope Urban II and complained. He made up atrocities about the Turks. In 1096, The Pope Urban II promoted the Crusade to reclaim the Holy Land from the barbaric Turks. These crusades lasted till the 13th century. In the process, Jews were persecuted and lots of looting took place. Many countries took interest in the Crusades because they were ready for travel and adventure. They wanted to expand trade with the Middle and Far East and so the Crusades gave them a chance to open up trade routes with those countries. They used Christianity to justify the Crusades. In reality, they wanted to expand trade and gain more territorial land.
This was enough to convince about 60,000 Europeans, many of them peasants to start on the First Crusade to the Holy Land ("THE CRUSADES TO THE HOLY LAND”). Many of the soldiers who went on the Crusades also hoped to acquire land and riches and return a war hero. This was the first time the Catholic Church had seen penitential warfare- “warfare in the service and defense of the Church for the ‘remission of your sins’”("THE CRUSADES TO THE HOLY LAND”). The whole mentality of the Crusades was to destroy any other beliefs including paganism and Judaism, which lead to all kinds of violence and persecution, with Jews becoming a common target, even entire Jewish communities were slaughtered ("How Christianity Rose to Dominate Europe."). Even the Christians were not safe, as many were killed in settlements along the way. Pope Urban was the one who brought out this idea that it was okay to kill non-Christians, and, even beyond that, IF you went to the Holy Land on a Crusade, you received a free ticket to heaven even if you died there. Does this sound a little bit familiar? Perhaps a little like those who truly believe that they’re gaining salvation by blowing up a group of innocent people along with themselves? Or flying a plane full of passengers into building full of people? Well, the First Crusaders marched to Jerusalem leaving death and
Few, if any, religious conquests were as gruesome and devastating as the Inquisition. Starting in the 13th century, monarchs from all around Europe, with approval from the Popes during their reigns, anointed inquisitors to track down a certain group of he...
The crusades in the middle ages were a long-lasting series of vigorous wars between Christians and Muslims over the Holy Land, Jerusalem. The crusades lasted for almost two hundred years. They began in 1099 and approximately ended in 1291. (What were the motives, and causes of these gruesome wars?) is the first question one might ask. To properly answer this question, I am about to analyze the first four crusades that had began in 1099 and ended in 1212.
In 1095, Pope Urban the second, was the one who declared religious war against the Muslims now known as the Crusades. In order to get an army, plenary indulgences was offered to anyone who joined resulted in tens of thousands joining in on the campaign. This meant that anyone who joined was “cleansed” of their sins by the Pope which helped believers be more pure in the spiritual world. The crusades began in the late eleventh century by the Western European Christians. These Europeans went with armies to take back the Holy Lands which is modern day Israel, or as the Jews and Christians refer to as Palestine. “ The first official armies to take part in the pope’s crusade departed from Kingdoms in Germany, France, and Italy in August 1096 and began to arrive in Constantinople in late 1096 and early 1097” (5). For the next 200 years, Christians and Muslims would battle over the Holy Lands.
Unlike other institutions, the Roman Catholic church relied heavily on direct violence when solving conflicts during the Middle Ages. The church used dubious strategies for internal and external conflicts, becoming a haven for violence and hatred. Muslims were viewed as savages, and did not believe Jesus Christ to be a savior to men, just a prophet (Notes). Thus, Islamic followers were a threat to salvation for Christians, who were unable to rationally think through this threat to their belief system. To eliminate the situation with the Muslims, Pope Urban II called for the first crusade, “to help expel that wicked race from our Christian lands before it is too late” (Source 40). Thus, war erupted between the two groups spanning multiple centuries
The people of the middle ages showed their faith in many ways some were through prayer or fasting and others took a more violent approach. The Crusades were a way for men to resolve themselves of their sins according to Pope Urban II. This was also a way for the Crusaders to take back what they believed was stolen from their ancestors and their god. This was not only from the men who went to fight, there were also the elderly, women, and children who felt they needed to go help their faith. This would also make the Muslims who had control over Jerusalem because they believed it was their holy land as well. They on the other side had to protect their faith and pay their own piety. This would also cement the relationship of Christians and Muslims for
Culture is made up of three main components: ethics, aesthetics, and religion (Lincoln 52). The lines of culture become skewed as it often blends in with political and religious views. In Western Europe during the time of the Reformation, the Church was the central ruler of the society. This meant that religion was not only a cultural view, but also a political one. As time moved on, the Church became less important, but today’s standards still connect religion to culture. This becomes an issue as individuals who are noticeably outside the culture in forms or religion are often judged and looked down upon (Lincoln 56). Due to this outcast it can cause anger to certain religions and culture which can often lead to these acts of violence. With the hate between cultures, religion becomes the justifiable mean on which violence can occur. Many individuals can state that God wants them to make their own religion superior, and one way they can draw attention to their religion is terrorism and other forms of violence. Due to this connection to culture, religion can not be separated into it’s own personal category, as it is forever affected by the changes and culture of the community (Lincoln 57). As time and culture progress, the religion of the community will either change with it, or fight the changes which will often cause conflict. This can be seen in the results of the practice of Jihad, the Reformation and
In 1095 Pope Urban II launched a series of Holy Wars which were called the Crusades. He believed that the Holy Land should be under Christian control. There were 14 Crusades from 1095 to the 1290s’ against the Muslims. Pope Urban II persuaded and promised
Lesley, Alison. "Religious Violence, Discrimination, Intolerance at an All-Time High in Some Countries." World Religion News. N.p., n.d. Web.
In order for the crusades to begin, the Christians needed to gather an army to travel and fight the forces of Muslims. With all the power being held by monarchies at this time, the church needed to be cleaver in order to gain troops to put their lives on the line. To gain the support of these warriors and dedication of men, Pope Urban II (1088-1099) challenged those morals of men by telling them to grab their weapons and join the holy war to recover the land of Jerusalem. It was not the challenge that convinced men to take part in this war. The promise of “immediate remission of sins” attracted the men to stand up for their religion and beliefs while at the same time, promising them a trip to heaven when life comes to an end. With this statement, men instantly prepared for battle which in a very short period of time gave the church power which has been held by the monarchies. Men of rich and poor prepared for battle, some wearing ...
Every state, culture, and society in the world has some form of religion. The most popular religions in the world today are Christianity, Buddhism, and the Muslim religions. Members of every religion follow some form of philosophy or ideology that shape their thinking and behaviors. One common thing about the existing religions is the presence of a supreme being. People misinterpret existing religious ideologies serving their personal interests that at times turn out to cause war. Religious ideologies brainwash populations who end up acting violently in different deviant forms (Richardson, 518). Religions use specific ideologies to make people living in a society violent to peaceful members who may fight back in self-defense.
Starting from one of the very first holy wars, the Crusades are a prime example of this disuniting force of religion. Stemming from Pope Urban II’s rallying cry for soldiers to reclaim the Holy Land, this was a series of religious wars launched by Christian states of Europe against the Muslims. Thousands of men, both young and old, were motivated by promises of wealth, religious salvation, and chivalry to fight this religious battle against the Muslims. Despite the nobility, these wars had severe consequences between Christian and Islamic believers. In the article “The Crusades” by W. Robert Godfrey, he expresses, “Hundreds of thousands died, and the terrible massacre in Jerusalem by the crusaders has seriously damaged the reputation of Christianity among Muslims ever since.” This major event in history created tension between Christians and Muslim faiths. As one of the bloodiest wars in history, this conflict between the Muslims and the Christians represents how religion ruptures peace between two segregated sides.
“God wanted the Christians to win. My Cid and his men made the Moors run.” (Pg.167) According to the Christians, divine fate was the reason for their success in the destruction of the Muslim’s land. The sheer force of God was the reason defeat over the Muslims came so easily. The Christians believed that God backed them because no other religion was a ‘true’ religion. The cruelty towards those of other religions by Christians came from the idea that they had God on their side and were working in God’s name. The treatment of the Muslims was satisfactory for the Christians because they believed they were carrying out God’s work. They deserved all the riches that they were rewarded because they followed the one true God. Intolerance is the inability