Does religion cause all wars?

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may recognise the above words from John Lennon's song "Imagine." I used these words to kick off my talks in chapel, speaking on the topic "that religion causes all wars."

Unsurprisingly, I took a negative view of the topic.

I did concede that religion has been a FACTOR in conflicts. The evidence isn't hard to find with The Crusades, The Inquisitions and much of the violence in Ireland (amongst others) having to do with how people view God and how He should be worshipped.

But, war revolves around much more than just religion. Wars are declared and fought over land, power, oil, money, envy, revenge, racism, mistrust, fame and more. War, when boiled down, comes down to one of three reasons...

1 - You have something I want. I will take it.
2 - I have something which you reckon you deserve. I will defend it.
3 - I don't trust you not to act on reasons one or two.

Admittedly, religion has been used, abused, twisted and manipulated to rationalise many of the additional reasons I gave for warfare. But is it fair to judge a group of people based on the poor actions of history or a few rogue members?

Would you call all teachers alcoholic drink-driver's if you read about one in the newspaper tomorrow?
Is it fair to think that all school students are pot-heads because they share something in common with a teenager who made a stupid decision in Bali?

If religion were the sole cause of warfare, then in theory, the world should be getting safer. Today people are openly less religious. Is the world, as a result, becoming more peaceful? Are we safer now compared to 50 or 150 years ago due to the rise of unbelief?

I think not.

The reason is due to the common factor in warfare.

It is not religion, but people.

People are greedy. People desire fame, fortune and power. People mistrust others. People are envious and strike out in vengeance.

"Religious" people are not immune to this.

Fortunately, the bible never says that you should follow the church or put your faith in Christians. This isn't because they are pure evil; they can do some extraordinary positive things. The bible says to follow and put your faith in Jesus.

When people give the name of Christ as a reason for conflict, weigh that reason with the life and teachings of Jesus. Balance them against the way that Jesus treated others and the way he behaved to those arresting and executing Him.

Don't judge the Prince of Peace by those who misrepresent Him.

And don't to it to other religions either...