Everything about Wars Of Religion totally explained
A
religious war is a
war caused by religious differences. It can involve one state with an established religion against another state with a different religion or a different sect within the same religion, or a religiously motivated group attempting to spread its faith by violence, or to suppress another group because of its religious beliefs or practices. The
French Wars of Religion, the
Crusades, and the
Reconquista are frequently cited historical examples.
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.
Many wars that are not
religious wars often still include elements of religion, such as priests blessing battleships. Differences in religion can further inflame a war being fought for other reasons. Historically, temples have been destroyed to weaken the morale of the opponent, even when the war itself isn't being waged over religious ideals.
In modern times religious designations are sometimes 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 are frequently seen as a conflict between Catholic and Protestant. However, the more fundamental 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 can't 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.
Christianity
War has played a major role in the history of Christianity. Religion and warfare, during this time period, seemed to mutually coincide. The cross, for example, has been illustrated quite often upon crests of shields, in the plating of armor or even as engravings upon weapons.
Those who fought in the name of God were recognized as
Milites Christi, warriors or knights of Christ. Christian fighters believed that victory was achieved through divine intervention or aid from God, and took great pride in their beliefs. These blessed warriors pursued opposing armies and the heretic religions and cults of the time, and were highly admired by the Church and the State. Often, these enemies would be one and the same, such as the Lombard Legions, which were portrayed as a common enemy of Rome and a satanic
Pagan tribe as well.
The ideals and duties of religion were used as tools to legitimize warfare. Religion essentially gave the armies an excuse for their conquests under the guise of "Christianization", but their holy conquests turned out to be a long, violent series of raids for territorial expansion, trade and world-wide dominance, in the name of God.
Crusades
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 support the
Byzantine Empire against the
Muslim Seljuq expansion into Asia Minor. Later, 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.
French Wars of Religion
In 16th Century France there was a succession of wars between
Roman Catholics and
Protestants (
Hugenots primarily). This series of wars is known as the Wars of Religion.
Thirty Years War
In the first half of the 17th century,
German states, Scandinavia (
Sweden, primarily) and
Poland were beset by religious warfare.
Roman Catholicism and
Calvinism figured in the opposing sides of this conflict, though Catholic
France did take the side of the Protestants but purely for political reasons.
Islam
Jihad means "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. In the West, Jihad is often understood as "Holy War", but it has a broader meaning in
Islamic theology. 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.
While there have been
mujtahids (Islamic scholars) who have argued that Jihad isn't supposed to include aggressive warfare, they've written their treatises in places such as
Syria,
Eastern Anatolia and
Mesopotamia, all of which were wrenched violently from the
Persian or
Byzantine Empires.
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
Sabeans were forced to become
dhimmis, pay a special tax (
jizya) and submit to the political authority of Islam or suffer expulsion.
Islamic scholars have different opinions on Jihad, but there's 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.
Judaism
In the
Jewish religion, the expression
Milhemet Mitzvah (
Hebrew: מלחמת מצווה, "
commandment war") refers to a war that's 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
Tanakh, the
Hebrew Bible, especially Numbers 34:1-15 and Ezekiel 47:13-20. The relevance 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.
Shinto
During the first part of the
Showa era, the imperial propaganda, turning to the
Empire of Japan's spiritual capital and to maintain fighting spirit, called the
Second Sino-Japanese War a
holy war (
Seisen). This propaganda was based on the
hakko ichiu, the traditional belief that imperial rule had been divinely ordained to expand until it united the "eight corners of the world".
Saxon Wars
The
Saxon Wars have been described as a religious war.
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