I have been asked this question a number of times in my life. It is usually asked in the context of criticising any religion. Or as an excuse for having nothing to do with all religion.

The Myth that Religion is the biggest cause of war

What about the wars caused by atheism or humanism?

Atheists and secular humanists consistently make the claim that religion is the real cause of violence and war throughout the history of mankind. While there’s no denying that campaigns such as the Crusades and the Thirty Years’ War foundationally rested on religious ideology, it is simply incorrect to assert that religion has been the primary cause of war.

An interesting source of truth on the matter is Philip and Axelrod’s three-volume Encyclopedia of Wars, which chronicles some 1,763 wars that have been waged over the course of human history. Of those wars, the authors categorize 123 as being religious in nature, which is an astonishingly low 6.98% of all wars. However, when one subtracts out those waged in the name of Islam (66), the percentage is cut by more than half to 3.23%.

The Bible clearly states that war is the consequence of sin.

God does allow war, this is a fact. Why?

Multiple religions are the result of sin. We really should start with the statement that sin is the cause of wars.

Any doctor will tell us that we need to get to the root cause of our health problems.

So we have to say that while religion causes some wars, it is sin that causes every single war. Religion is the symptom not the cause.

James tells us very clearly where the trouble starts. Jas 4:1 “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?”

Every individual human being is fallen. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So we have to look deeper to find answers to what is going on in our world.

It is sin that leads to personal quarrels and also to wars between nations. Sin must manifest itself. Like a fire started in a haystack you will soon see it. Sin will always lead to suffering, misery and shame.

God permits war so that we might see how serious sin is.

In times of peace we think lightly of sin. Our view of human nature is too optimistic.

War reveals man for what he is, a sinner in need of salvation. We must learn that it is sin that causes wars. It is man’s folly and pride that must be acknowledged. God teaches us so much through the medium of war and affliction.

God permits war so that we might be brought back to God, like the penitent prodigal son in all his despair and poverty. It was so often said of the Israelites in the Old Testament “In their trouble and distress they cried unto the Lord.”

We should be positive about wars, even though they are disastrous and inevitable, yet they ought to lead us back to the God of peace and especially to the Prince of Peace who alone can save us from the power, penalty and presence of sin.