h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7832647.stm

Atheists and anti-theists have to wade through a sea of religion every day - it's unavoidable. We hear about it constantly in the news because it's the cause of most of the strife and the wars in the world today. We see churches, synagogues and mosques everywhere. We hear hymns and prayers and church bells on the radio and television (that goes double at Christmas). So many of our holidays are based around religion. We have people knocking at the door and trying to convert us.

And we put up with it. Nobody demands that all religious buildings are demolished and believers worship in discrete, unmarked buildings. No-one (at least in most industrialised countries) demands that all mention of religion is banned from the media. No-one shoots Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons just for walking up the garden path (mostly). But do one small thing that offends a religionist and you'd think it was the end of the world.

If all religinionists were like the Quakers the world would be a far better place, in my opinion.

True, true, religion has been the cause of much suffering; but it's also provided much solice and relief at times. I'm not sure how one might calculate the net value, but I suspect it's on the negative side.

Still, all the religious strife on Earth absolutely pales in comparison to the mind-numbingly deleterious effects, brought down upon the Galaxy, by the powers of inter-species communication endowed on sentient beings by our most holy Blessed Babelfish!

I don't know if it is fair to say that religion is the cause of most of the strife in the world, If you look throughout history, Trade has been the cause for far more conflicts.

I'm not sure how you'd quantify that, or if I agree, but it's a fair point.

Actually, when all is boiled down, in the final analysis, most strife is caused by allocation of resources. Someone wants or needs what somebody else has.

As a result, it also centers around power and control of those resources.

We've invented all of the rest.

I think religion doesn't often cause wars. However, divides between groups caused by religion often provide the excuse to start a war.

This is all beside the point though. Regardless of its merits, censorship of religion would never be taken seriously, and yet we're seeing complaints to the ASA, a man refusing to drive buses with the slogan, and a bunch of MPs signing an Early Day Motion to ban the atheist bus adverts. Whatever next?

When Douglas Adams wrote that the babel fish was responsible for "More and bloodier wars than anything else in creation", it's my opinion that he was using the fish as an allegory representing religion. Religion has not only caused wars throughout history, it's also been responsible for uncountable strife between individuals and groups.

Northern Ireland
The Crusades
Rangers and Celtic
Shi'ite and Sunni
Hindus and Muslims during partition
Jews and Arabs (especially Palestinians)
Christians and just about anyone who isn't

Northern Ireland (Wanted to have Belfast as a secure Irish port in the north back as far as Elizabeth the first, hence the Scottish Planters for the Ulster plantantions, so trade/land)

The Crusades (The Silk road, so trade)

Rangers and Celtic (I'll grant that one, though as one, I know that scottish people will fight over just bout anything if you give us half a reason)

Shi'ite and Sunni (land/power)

Hindus and Muslims during partition (Land, which leads to increased trade oppurtunities)

Jews and Arabs (especially Palestinians)(Land, Land and more Land)

Christians and just about anyone who isn't (I'm guessing talking bout Empire with this one, and thats the most blatant example of wars for trade there is)

Whilst religion may sometimes be used as an overt reason for conflict, really is it actually the real cause.