This is part 2 in our series “Is Christianity Harmful to Society.” You can read Part 1 here.
Some say that religion is the problem with the world. Take the late Christopher Hitchens as one obvious example.[1] But could it be that religion is not the actual problem? Take war, for instance. Is Christianity, or the world religions in general, responsible for most of the wars fought in recorded history? Many seem to think so.[2]
Actually, no, it isn’t true that Christianity and other religions are responsible for most wars. Philip and Axelrod’s three-volume work called Encyclopedia of Wars, 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 amazingly low 6.98%. However, when one subtracts out those waged in the name of Islam (66), the percentage is cut by more than half to 3.23%. That means that all faiths combined – minus Islam – have caused less than 4% of all of humanity’s war in recorded history.
When one surveys the conflict and violence throughout the history of civilization, a common denominator does emerge—people. John Ortberg writes,
Imagine a society with no religion, no faith, no God…Does it seem likely that in that society no one is going to covet someone else’s money, no one is going to covet someone else’s house, or someone else’s spouse, that people whose skin tones are different are suddenly going to be one another’s devoted servants? The problem of “otherness” is suddenly going to be solved? It is hard to imagine that just because religion is done away with, greedy people will become generous, angry people will become merciful, Jerry Springer will be canceled, and everyone will support PBS and listen to NPR.[2]
Upon reflection, most would agree that people are the problem, not religion. There are deeper issues at work. The human heart is corrupt. That’s a truth that few want to acknowledge despite the overwhelming evidence that we see in the real world. Throughout history, power has been used in disturbing ways and religious beliefs have been co-opted for personal and political gain. Ward’s comments are helpful:
No one would deny that there have been religious wars in human history. Catholics have fought Protestants, Sunni Muslims have fought Shi’a Muslims, and Hindus have fought Muslims. However, no one who has studied history could think that most wars in human history have been religious. And in the case of those that have been religious, the religious component has usually been associated with some non-religious, social, ethnic, or political component that has exerted a powerful influence on the conflicts.[3]
This observation about the history of warfare reinforces the critical point that all ideals, religious or irreligious, are capable of being abused. But haven’t only religious people caused the most bloodshed? Actually, no. It is historically inaccurate to conclude that the worldview of atheism has not contributed to oppression, injustice, and human suffering. We need to set the record straight concerning atheism’s impact and the death tolls associated with it because this is something that isn’t being talked about.
What some people don’t realize is that atheist-based societies have done far more damage in the world than what Christianity has ever done. If you look into a 1992 edition of Guinness Book of World Records and turn to the category “Judicial,” subheading “Crimes: Mass Killings,” you will find that the 20th century is the bloodiest century on record and it’s all because of institutionalized atheism:
Over 66 million wiped out by the Soviet Union leaders: Lenin, Stalin, and Khrushchev
Between 32 and 61 million Chinese killed under Communist regimes since 1949
2.7 million Cambodians were killed under the dictator Pol Pot & the communist Khmer Rouge
History has always demonstrated a human predisposition toward violence. Regardless of worldview, humans will try to find a way to justify their evil actions. The question is not which group is more violent but which worldview most authorizes and accommodates this violence. Christians who commit horrific evil toward other humans actually have to act in opposition to the teaching of their Master, Jesus Christ. The Gospels repeatedly demonstrate that Jesus came to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:79), and Jesus taught his followers to love their enemies (Matthew 5:44). Christians who have committed atrocities over the ages have had to do so in rebellion to God—they ignored or were ignorant of the peaceful teachings of Jesus.
But in an atheistic worldview, where humans are not seen as made in the image of God, there is little or no reason why any of us should feel compelled to treat other people with love and respect. This is what most atheists seem to miss. They’ll say something to the effect of: But Stalin didn’t kill people in the name of Atheism. No, but that’s irrelevant to what is being put forth. If there is no objective right or wrong, and if the world is simply filled with species and groups competing for the same resources, and if history belongs to those species and groups who are best suited for survival and reproduction, then why should we be concerned with those groups who are not “fit” enough to survive?
History is filled with examples of one population group replacing another in the natural struggle for resources. After all, we’re just animals on an atheistic view. That means it’s all about survival of the fittest. If atheism is true, and we’re just animals, and survival and reproduction are the only true concerns, then the struggle for resources authorizes and justifies human violence. Unlike Christians, atheists can commit genocide without ignoring their worldview; atheists have the freedom to eliminate competing groups as a faithful expression of their worldview.
When it comes to violence and evil, Christians who do this, act inconsistently with their worldview while atheists who do this act consistently with their worldview.[5]
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End Notes
- See Christopher Hitchens, god is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (Little, Brown and Company, 2009).
- The late Tim Keller said this was one of the most common objections he encountered in his ministry. See The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2008), 52.
- John Ortberg, Faith and Doubt (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 111-112.
- Keith Ward, Is Religion Dangerous (Lion Books, 2011), 73.
- Keller, quoting Alister McGrath, points out how society’s that reject the idea of God, will “transcendentalize” something else. For some groups it is the State, others it may be race and blood, and still some others, even liberty and equality are pushed to such as an extreme that some will kill in it’s name. (The Reason for God, 57.)
Photo Credit: View of Tunbridge, Vermont by Photographer Daniel Brinneman
