Art by Damien Marie AtHope

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Most religions in the world have and/or are killing people. Just think of all the wars fought between religions and in the religions, themselves, lots of people were killed. In those wars so many people died in both sides to protect their god but the god did not protect them. In other words, all the people killed religion or gods was the driving reason. In ancient times, the notion of a divine “division of labor” ruler or slave as well as oppressor and the oppressed. And while early empires could be described as henotheistic, i.e. dominated by a single god of the ruling elite (as Morduch in the Babylonian empire, Assur in the Assyrian empire, etc.), or more directly by defining the ruler in an imperial cult, the concept of “Holy War” enters a new phase with the development of monotheism, with a divine “division of labor” took the control of one’s life, almost every aspect was now to be controlled by the god, the religion, the priest, the king. Monotheism is distinguished from henotheism, a religious system in which the believer worships one god without denying that others may worship different gods with equal validity, and monotheism-centrism or single god theistic preference and the god they choose is the only god they believe one can or should choose, the recognition of the existence of many gods but with the consistent worship of only one deity. The broader definition of monotheism characterizes the traditions of Bábism, the Bahá’í Faith, Cao Dai (Caodaiism), Cheondoism (Cheondogyo), Christianity, Deism, Eckankar, Hindu sects such as Shaivism and Vaishnavism, Islam, Judaism, Mandaeism, Rastafari, Seicho no Ie, Sikhism, Tengrism (Tangrism), Tenrikyo (Tenriism), Yazidism, and Zoroastrianism, and elements of pre-monotheistic thought are found in early religions such as Atenism, Ancient Chinese religion, and Yahwism. So, monotheistic thought of one supreme god made “war personified” thus killing for a god more fully enters the scene with the emergence and promotion of monotheism or “man”-o-theism, and while early empires could be described as henotheistic, i.e. dominated by a single god of the ruling elite it is monotheism that pushed the killing of people for the religion or god to the forefront the concept of “Holy War” enters a new phase with the development of monotheism. Many people in many cities in many countries of the world were being killed by many religions and the same thing has been going on for about the 3,000 years in which monotheism has been promoted and one god driven religion wished to wipe out all others like the rulers that believed in /used these gods to rule, oppress, control, and kill. Same things are happening in many countries in the world. Thinks are not much different then long ago as many different groups today kill other not just in different religions but even people in the same religion are also killing each other. So, religions are killing people. People in ancient times where scientifically uninformed to put it lightly. Such people were the ones creating theist so called holy books. They believed the sun was revolving around earth. The truth is that the planet earth is revolving around the sun. So, there are many mistakes in many religious books written by scientifically uninformed people and thus we have so many magical explanations in the scientifically uninformed holy books religions cherish. Many religions are making people slaves killing their ability to critically think about their religion or adequately respect science over unconfirmed myths. Religions are putting the mind of people inside a cage and are not allowing freedom to people even to think rationally or evidentiary. Religions are not allowing development of mind of people crushing the brightness of who they are with the darkening of groupthink aka non-thinking indoctrination. So, religions are producing only narrow or closed-minded people. They cannot produce broad or open-minded people. Some religions are against civilization. So, we must free people from religious slavery. These narrow or closed-minded people read the old religious books of groupthink aka non-thinking indoctrination. And thereafter humanity is in danger as these BELIEVERS question whether they will allow killing of people to protect such books that have errors and lies, religions that promote separation, or gods devoid of evidence or any kind of proof? We atheists will wait and see, and likely we will see more religions kill people. ref

“Religious violence is, specifically, violence that is motivated by or in reaction to religious precepts, texts, or doctrines. This includes violence against religious institutions, people, objects, or events when the violence is motivated to some degree by some religious aspect of the target or by the precepts of the attacker. Religious violence does not refer exclusively to acts committed by religious groups, but includes acts committed by secular groups against religious groups. Religious violence, like all violence, is a cultural process that is context-dependent and very complex. Oversimplifications of religion and violence often lead to misguided understandings and exaggerations of causes for why some people commit violence and why most do not commit violence. Religious violence is primarily the domain of the violent “actor”, which may be distinguished between individual and collective forms of violence. Overall, religious violence is perpetrated for a wide variety of ideological reasons and is generally only one of the contributing social and political factors that leads to unrest. Studies of supposed cases of religious violence often conclude that violence is strongly driven by ethnic animosities rather than by religious worldviews. Recently, scholars have questioned the very concept of “religious violence” and the extent to which religious, political, economic, or ethnic aspects of a conflict are even meaningful. Some observe that the very concept of “religion” is a modern invention and not something that is universal across cultures or historical and thereby makes “religious violence” a myth. Since all cases of violence and war include social, political, and economic dimensions and since there is no consensus on definitions of “religion” among scholars and no way to isolate “religion” from the rest of the more likely motivational dimensions, it is incorrect to label any violent event as “religious”. Numerous cases of supposed acts of religious violence such as the Thirty Years War, the French Wars of Religion, the Protestant-Catholic conflict in Ireland, the Sri Lankan Civil War, 9/11 and other terrorist attacks, the Bosnian War, and the Rwandan Civil War were all primarily motivated by social, political, and economic issues rather than religion. Charles Selengut characterizes the phrase “religion and violence” as “jarring,” asserting that “religion is thought to be opposed to violence and a force for peace and reconciliation. He acknowledges, however, that “the history and scriptures of the world’s religions tell stories of violence and war even as they speak of peace and love.” According to Matthew Rowley, three hundred contributing causes of religious violence have been discussed by some scholars, however he notes that “violence in the name of God is a complex phenomenon and oversimplification further jeopardizes peace because it obscures many of the causal factors.” In another piece, Matthew Rowley notes 15 ways to address the complexity of violence, both secular and religious, and notes that secular narratives of religious violence tend to be erroneous or exaggerated due to over simplification of religious people, their beliefs, thinking in false dichotomies, and ignoring complex secular causes of supposed “religious violence”. He also notes that when discussing religious violence, one should also note that the overwhelming majority of religious people do not get inspired to engage in violence. Ralph Tanner similarly describes the combination of religion and violence as “uncomfortable”, asserting that religious thinkers generally avoid the conjunction of the two and argue that religious violence is “only valid in certain circumstances which are invariably one-sided”. Michael Jerryson argues that scholarship on religion and violence sometimes overlook non-Abrahamic religions. This tendency provides considerable problems, one of which is the support of faulty associations. For example, he finds a persistent global pattern to align religious like Islam as a cause for violence and others like Buddhism as an explanation of peace. In many instances of political violence, religion tends to play a central role. This is especially true of terrorism, which sees violence committed against unarmed noncombatants in order to inspire fear and achieve some political goal. Terrorism expert Martha Crenshaw suggests that religion is just a mask used by political movements to draw support. Crenshaw outlines two approaches in observing religious violence to view the underlying mechanisms. One approach, called the instrumental approach, sees religious violence as acting as a rational calculation to achieve some political end. Increasing the costs of performing such violence will help curb it. Crenshaw’s alternate approach sees religious violence stemming from the organizational structure of religious communities, with the heads of these communities acting as political figureheads. Crenshaw suggests that threatening the internal stability of these organizations (perhaps by offering a nonviolent alternative) will dissuade religious organizations from performing political violence. A third approach sees religious violence as a result of community dynamics rather than religious duty. Systems of meanings developed within these communities allow for religious interpretation to justify violence, and so acts like terrorism happen because people are part of communities of violence. In this way, religious violence and terrorism are performances designed to inspire an emotional reaction from both those in the community and those outside of it. While religion can be used as a means of rallying support for violence, religious leaders regularly denounce such manipulations as contrary to the teachings of their belief. Hector Avalos argues that religions create violence over four scarce resources: access to divine will, knowledge, primarily through scripture; sacred space; group privileging; and salvation. Not all religions have or use theses four resources. He believes that religious violence is particularly untenable as these resources are never verifiable and, unlike claims to scarce resources such a water or land, cannot be adjudicated objectively. Regina Schwartz argues that all monotheistic religions are inherently violent because of an exclusivism that inevitably fosters violence against those that are considered outsiders. Lawrence Wechsler asserts that Schwartz isn’t just arguing that Abrahamic religions have a violent legacy, but that the legacy is actually genocidal in nature.” Ref

Religious Violence

“Religious violence covers phenomena where religion is either the subject or the object of violent behavior. All world religions contain narratives, symbols, and metaphors for violence and war. Religious violence is violence that is motivated by, or in reaction to, religious precepts, texts, or the doctrines of a target or an attacker. It includes violence against religious institutions, people, objects, or events. Religious violence does not exclusively include acts which are committed by religious groups, instead, it includes acts that are committed against religious groups.” ref

“Violence” is a very broad concept that is difficult to define because it is used against both human and non-human objects. Furthermore, the term can denote a wide variety of experiences such as blood-shedding, physical harm, forcing against personal freedom, passionate conduct or language, or emotions such as fury and passion. “Religion” is a complex and problematic modern western concept. Though there is no scholarly consensus over what a religion is, today religion is generally considered an abstraction that entails beliefs, doctrines, and sacred places.” ref

“The link between religious belief and behavior is problematic. Decades of anthropological, sociological, and psychological research have proven the falsehood of the assumption that behaviors directly follow from religious beliefs and values because people’s religious ideas are fragmented, loosely connected, and context-dependent just like all other domains of culture and life. In general, religions, ethical systems, and societies rarely promote violence as an end in itself since violence is universally undesirable. At the same time, there is a universal tension between the general desire to avoid violence and the acceptance of justifiable uses of violence to prevent a “greater evil” that permeates all cultures.” ref

“Religious violence, like all forms of violence, is a cultural process that is context-dependent and very complex. Oversimplifications of “religion” and “violence” often lead to misguided understandings of causes for why some people commit acts of violence and why most people never commit such acts in the first place. Violence is perpetrated for a wide variety of ideological reasons and religion is generally only one of many contributing social and political factors that can lead to unrest. Studies of supposed cases of religious violence often conclude that violence is strongly driven by ethnic animosities rather than by religious worldviews. Due to the complex nature of both religion and violence, it is normally unclear if religion is a significant cause of violence.” ref

“Religion can be thought of as a relatively modern Western concept. The compartmentalized concept of religion, where religious things were separated from worldly things, was not used before the 1500s. Furthermore, parallel concepts are not found in many cultures and there is no equivalent term for “religion” in many languages. Scholars have found it difficult to develop a consistent definition, with some giving up on the possibility of a definition and others rejecting the term entirely. Others argue that regardless of its definition, it is not fully or easily appliable to all concepts of supernatural thinking or beliefs in non-Western cultures.” ref

“The modern concept of “religion” as an abstraction which entails distinct sets of beliefs or doctrines is a recent invention in the English language since such usage began with texts from the 17th century due to the splitting of Christendom during the Protestant Reformation and more prevalent colonization or globalization in the age of exploration which involved contact with numerous foreign and indigenous cultures with non-European languages. Ancient sacred texts like the Bible and the Quran did not have a concept of religion in their original languages and neither did their authors or the cultures to which they belonged. It was in the 19th century that the terms “Buddhism“, “Hinduism“, “Taoism“, and “Confucianism” first emerged. There is no precise equivalent of “religion” in Hebrew, and Judaism does not draw clear distinctions between religious, national, racial, or ethnic identities.” ref

“According to Steve Clarke, “currently available evidence does not allow us to determine whether religion is, or is not, a significant cause of violence.” He lists multiple problems that make it impossible to establish a causal relationship such as difficulties in distinguishing motive/pretext and inability to verify if they would necessarily lead to any violent action, the lack of consensus of definitions of both violence and religion among scholars, and the inability to see if the presence of religion actually adds or subtracts from general levels of violence since no society without religion has ever existed to compare with. Charles Selengut characterizes the phrase “religion and violence” as “jarring”, asserting that “religion is thought to be opposed to violence and a force for peace and reconciliation.” He acknowledges, however, that “the history and scriptures of the world’s religions tell stories of violence and war even as they speak of peace and love.” ref

“According to Matthew Rowley, three hundred contributing causes of religious violence have been discussed by some scholars, however, he states that “violence in the name of God is a complex phenomenon and oversimplification further jeopardizes peace because it obscures many of the causal factors.” In another piece, Matthew Rowley lists 15 ways to address the complexity of violence, both secular and religious, and states that secular narratives of religious violence tend to be erroneous or exaggerated due to over simplification of religious people, their beliefs, thinking in false dichotomies, and ignoring complex secular causes of supposed “religious violence”. He also states that when discussing religious violence, one should also note that the overwhelming majority of religious people do not get inspired to engage in violence.” ref

“Ralph Tanner similarly describes the combination of religion and violence as “uncomfortable”, asserting that religious thinkers generally avoid the conjunction of the two and argue that religious violence is “only valid in certain circumstances which are invariably one-sided”. Michael Jerryson argues that scholarship on religion and violence sometimes overlooks non-Abrahamic religions. This tendency provides considerable problems, one of which is the support of faulty associations. For example, he finds a persistent global pattern to align religions like Islam as a cause for violence and others like Buddhism as an explanation of peace.” ref

“In many instances of political violence, religion tends to play a central role. This is especially true of terrorism, which sees violence committed against unarmed non-combatants in order to inspire fear and achieve some political goal. Terrorism expert Martha Crenshaw suggests that religion is just a mask used by political movements to draw support. Crenshaw outlines two approaches in observing religious violence to view the underlying mechanisms. One approach, called the instrumental approach, sees religious violence as acting as a rational calculation to achieve some political end. Increasing the costs of performing such violence will help curb it. Crenshaw’s alternate approach sees religious violence stemming from the organizational structure of religious communities, with the heads of these communities acting as political figureheads. Crenshaw suggests that threatening the internal stability of these organizations (perhaps by offering a nonviolent alternative) will dissuade religious organizations from performing political violence.” ref

“A third approach sees religious violence as a result of community dynamics rather than religious duty. Systems of meanings developed within these communities allow for religious interpretation to justify violence, and so acts like terrorism happen because people are part of communities of violence. In this way, religious violence and terrorism are performances designed to inspire an emotional reaction from both those in the community and those outside of it. Hector Avalos argues that religions create violence over four scarce resources: access to the divine will, knowledge, primarily through scripture; sacred space; group privileging; and salvation. Not all religions have or use these four resources. He believes that religious violence is particularly untenable as these resources are never verifiable and, unlike claims to scare resources such a water or land, cannot be adjudicated objectively. Regina Schwartz argues that all monotheistic religions are inherently violent because of an exclusivism that inevitably fosters violence against those that are considered outsiders. Lawrence Wechsler asserts that Schwartz isn’t just arguing that Abrahamic religions have a violent legacy, but that the legacy is actually genocidal in nature.” ref

Abrahamic religions and Violence

“Hector Avalos argues that, because religions claim to have divine favor for themselves, over and against other groups, this sense of self-righteousness leads to violence because conflicting claims of superiority, based on unverifiable appeals to God, cannot be objectively adjudicated. Similarly, Eric Hickey writes, “the history of religious violence in the West is as long as the historical record of its three major religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with their mutual antagonisms and their struggles to adapt and survive despite the secular forces that threaten their continued existence.” Regina Schwartz argues that all monotheistic religions, including Christianity, are inherently violent because of their exclusivism which inevitably fosters violence against those who are considered outsiders. Lawrence Wechsler asserts that Schwartz isn’t just arguing that Abrahamic religions have a violent legacy, instead, she is arguing that their legacy is actually genocidal in nature.” ref

Judaism

“As the religion of the Jews, who are also known as Israelites, Judaism is based on the Torah and the Tanakh, which is also referred to as the Hebrew Bible, and it guides its adherents on how to live, die, and fight via the 613 commandments which are referred to as the 613 Mitzvahs, the most famous of which are the Ten Commandments, one of which is the commandment You shall not murder. The Torah also lists instances and circumstances which require its adherents to go to war and kill their enemies. Such a war is usually referred to as a Milkhemet Mitzvah, a “compulsory war” which is obligated by the Torah or God, or a Milkhemet Reshut a “voluntary war.” ref

“Burggraeve and Vervenne describe the Old Testament as being full of violence and they also cite it as evidence for the existence of both a violent society and a violent god. They write that, “(i)n numerous Old Testament texts the power and glory of Israel’s God is described in the language of violence.” They assert that more than one thousand passages refer to Yahweh as acting violently or supporting the violence of humans and they also assert that more than one hundred passages involve divine commands to kill humans. On the basis of these passages in the Old Testament, some Christian churches and theologians argue that Judaism is a violent religion and the god of Israel is a violent god. Reuven Firestone asserts that these assertions are usually made in the context of claims that Christianity is a religion of peace and the god of Christianity is one who only expresses love.” ref

“Some scholars such as Deborah Weissman readily acknowledge the fact that “normative Judaism is not pacifist” and “violence is condoned in the service of self-defense.”However, the Talmud prohibits violence of any kind towards one’s neighbor. J. Patout Burns asserts that, although Judaism condones the use of violence in certain cases, Jewish tradition clearly posits the principle of minimization of violence. This principle can be stated as “(wherever) Jewish law allows violence to keep an evil from occurring, it mandates that the minimal amount of violence must be used in order to accomplish one’s goal.” The love and pursuit of peace, as well as laws that require the eradication of evil, sometimes by the use of violent means, co-exist in the Jewish tradition. The Hebrew Bible contains instances of religiously mandated wars which often contain explicit instructions from God to the Israelites to exterminate other tribes, as in Deuteronomy 7:1–2 or Deuteronomy 20:16–18. Examples include the story of the Amalekites (Deuteronomy 25:17–19, 1 Samuel 15:1–6), the story of the Midianites (Numbers 31:1–18), and the battle of Jericho (Joshua 6:1–27).” ref

“Reuven Firestone (2012) stated ‘that holy war is a common theme in the Hebrew Bible. Divinely legitimized through the authority of biblical scripture and its interpretation, holy war became a historical reality for the Jews of antiquity. Among at least some of the Jewish groups of the late Second Temple period until the middle of the second century, C.E., holy war was an operative institution. That is, Jews engaged in what is defined here as a holy war.’ He mentioned the Maccabean Revolt (167–160 BCE), the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE) as three examples of a “holy war” or “Commanded War” (Hebrew: מלחמת מצווה Milkhemet Mitzvah) in the eyes of Rabbinic Judaism at the time. He asserted that this concept may have re-emerged in modern times within some factions of the Zionist movement, particularly Revisionist Zionism.” ref

“In 2016, however, Firestone made a distinction between what he regarded as the Hebrew Bible’s concept and the ‘Western’ concept of holy war: “”Holy war” is a Western concept referring to war that is fought for religion, against adherents of other religions, often in order to promote religion through conversion, and with no specific geographic limitation. This concept does not occur in the Hebrew Bible, whose wars are not fought for religion or in order to promote it but, rather, in order to preserve religion and a religiously unique people in relation to a specific and limited geography. Several scholars regard war narratives in the Hebrew Bible, such as the war against the Midianites in Numbers 31, to be a holy war, with Niditch (1995) asserting the presence of a ‘priestly ideology of war in Numbers 31’. Hamilton (2005) argued that the two major concerns of Number 31 are the idea that war is a defiling activity, but Israelite soldiers need to be ritually pure, so they may only fight wars for a holy cause, and are required to cleanse themselves afterwards to restore their ritual purity.” ref

“The Israelite campaign against Midian was blessed by the Israelite god Yahweh, and could therefore be considered a holy war. Olson (2012), who believed the war narrative to be a fictional story with a theological purpose, noted that the Israelite soldiers’ actions in Numbers 31 closely followed the holy war regulations set out in Deuteronomy 20:14, although Moses‘ commandment to also kill the captive male children and non-virgin women was a marked departure from these regulations. He concluded: “Many aspects of this holy war text may be troublesome to a contemporary reader. But understood within the symbolic world of the ancient writers of Numbers, the story of the war against the Midianites is a kind of dress rehearsal that builds confidence and hope in anticipation of the actual conquest of Canaan that lay ahead.” Dawn (2016) stated: “From the earliest days of Israel’s existence as a people, holy war was a sacred institution, undertaken as a cultic act of a religious community.” ref

Judging biblical wars

“The biblical wars of extermination have been characterized as “genocide” by several authorities, because the Torah states that the Israelites annihilated entire ethnic groups or tribes: the Israelites killed all Amalekites, including men, women, and children (1 Samuel 15:1–20); the Israelites killed all men, women, and children in the battle of Jericho(Joshua 6:15–21), and the Israelites killed all men, women, and children of several Canaanite tribes (Joshua 10:28–42). However, some scholars believe that these accounts in the Torah are exaggerated or metaphorical.” ref

Arab-Israeli conflict

“During the Palestine-Israeli conflict, people use the Torah (Tanakh) as a way to murder Palestinians, but the IDF has said “That we don’t condone the killing of innocent Palestinians”. On several occasions, Palestinians have been associated with biblical antagonists, particularly with the Amalekites. For example, Rabbi Israel Hess has recommended that Palestinians be killed, based on biblical verses such as 1 Samuel 15.” ref

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

“The Israeli–Palestinian conflict can primarily be viewed as an ethnic conflict between two parties where one party is most often portrayed as a singular ethno-religious group which only consists of the Jewish majority and ignores non-Jewish minority Israeli citizens who support the existence of a Zionist state to varying degrees, especially the Druze and the Circassians who, for example, volunteer to serve in the IDF, participate in combat and are represented in the Israeli parliament in higher numbers and greater percentages than Israeli Jews are as well as Israeli Arabs, Samaritans, various other Christians, and Negev Bedouin; the other party is sometimes presented as an ethnic group which is multi-religious (although most numerously consisting of Muslims, then Christians, then other religious groups up to and including Samaritans and even Jews). Yet despite the multi-religious composition of both of the parties in the conflict, elements on both sides often view it as a religious war between Jews and Muslims. In 1929, religious tensions between Muslim and Jewish Palestinians over Jews praying at the Wailing Wall led to the 1929 Palestine riots including the Hebron and Safed ethnic cleansings of Jews.” ref

“In 1947, the UN’s decision to partition the Mandate of Palestine, led to the creation of the state of Israel and Jordan, which annexed the West Bank portion of the mandate, since then, the region has been plagued with conflict. The 1948 Palestinian exodus also known as the Nakba (Arabic: النكبة), occurred when approximately 711,000 to 726,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and the Civil War that preceded it. The exact number of refugees is a matter of dispute, though the number of Palestine refugees and their unsettled descendants registered with UNRWA is more than 4.3 million. The causes remain the subject of fundamental disagreement between Palestinians and Israelis. Both Jews and Palestinians make ethnic and historical claims to the land, and Jews make religious claims as well.” ref

Christianity

Islam

Religious Conflicts and Religious Wars

Religious war

“According to the Encyclopedia of Wars, out of all 1,763 known/recorded historical conflicts, 121, or 6.87%, had religion as their primary cause. Matthew White’s The Great Big Book of Horrible Things gives religion as the primary cause of 11 of the world’s 100 deadliest atrocities.” ref

“Some authors have stated that “religious” conflicts are not exclusively based on religious beliefs but should instead be seen as clashes of communities, identities, and interests that are secular-religious or at least very secular. Some have asserted that attacks are carried out by those with very strong religious convictions such as terrorists in the context of a global religious war. Robert Pape, a political scientist who specializes in suicide terrorism argues that much of the modern Muslim suicide terrorism is secularly based. Although the causes of terrorism are complex, it may be safe to assume that terrorists are partially reassured by their religious views that their god is on their side and that it will reward them in Heaven for punishing unbelievers.” ref

“These conflicts are among the most difficult to resolve, particularly when both sides believe that God is on their side and that He has endorsed the moral righteousness of their claims. One of the most infamous quotes associated with religious fanaticism was uttered in 1209 during the siege of Béziers, a Crusader asked the Papal Legate Arnaud Amalric how to tell Catholics from Cathars when the city was taken, to which Amalric replied: “Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius“, or “Kill them all; God will recognize his.” ref

“A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (Latin: bellum sacrum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to which religious, economic, ethnic, or other aspects of a conflict are predominant in a given war. The degree to which a war may be considered religious depends on many underlying questions, such as the definition of religion, the definition of ‘religious war’ (taking religious traditions on violence such as ‘holy war’ into account), and the applicability of religion to war as opposed to other possible factors. Answers to these questions heavily influence conclusions on how prevalent religious wars have been as opposed to other types of wars.” ref

“According to scholars such as Jeffrey Burton Russell, conflicts may not be rooted strictly in religion and instead may be a cover for the underlying secular power, ethnic, social, political, and economic reasons for conflict. Other scholars have argued that what is termed “religious wars” is a largely “Western dichotomy” and a modern invention from the past few centuries, arguing that all wars that are classed as “religious” have secular (economic or political) ramifications. In several conflicts including the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Syrian civil war, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, religious elements are overtly present, but variously described as fundamentalism or religious extremism—depending upon the observer’s sympathies. However, studies on these cases often conclude that ethnic animosities drive much of the conflicts.” ref

“The definition of ‘religious war’ and the applicability of religion to war have a strong influence on how many wars may be properly labeled ‘religious wars’, and thus how prevalent religious wars have been as opposed to other wars. According to Kalevi Holsti (1991, p. 308, Table 12.2), who cataloged and categorized wars from 1648 to 1989 into to 24 categories of ‘issues that generated wars’, ‘protect[ion of] religious confrères‘ (co-religionists) was (one of) the primary cause(s) of 14% of all wars during 1648–1714, 11% during 1715–1814, 10% during 1815–1914, and 0% during 1918–1941 and 1945–1989. Additionally, he found ‘ethnic/religious unification/irredenta‘ to be (one of) the primary cause(s) of 0% of all wars during 1648–1714 and 1715–1814, 6% during 1815–1914, 17% during 1918–1941, and 12% during 1945–1989.” ref

“In their 1997 Encyclopedia of Wars, authors Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod documented 1763 notable wars in world history, out of which 121 wars were in the “religious wars” category in the index. They note that before the 17th century, much of the “reasons” for conflicts were explained through the lens of religion and that after that time wars were explained through the lens of wars as a way to further sovereign interests. Some commentators have concluded that only 123 wars (7%) out of these 1763 wars were fundamentally originated by religious motivations. Andrew Holt (2018) traced the origin of the ‘only 123 religious wars’ claim back to the 2008 book The Irrational Atheist of far-right activist Vox Day, which he notes is slightly adjusted compared to the 121 that is indeed found in the Encyclopedia of Wars itself. The Encyclopedia of War, edited by Gordon Martel, using the criteria that the armed conflict must involve some overt religious action, concludes that 6% of the wars listed in their encyclopedia can be labeled religious wars.” ref

Ancient Warfare and Religions

“While early empires could be described as henotheistic, i.e. dominated by a single god of the ruling elite (as Marduk in the Babylonian empire, Assur in the Assyrian empire, etc.), or more directly by deifying the ruler in an imperial cult, the concept of “holy war” enters a new phase with the development of monotheism. During classical antiquity, the Greco-Roman world had a pantheon with particular attributes and interest areas. Ares personified war. While he received occasional sacrifices from armies going to war, there was only a very limited “cult of Ares”. In Sparta, however, each company of youths sacrificed to Enyalios before engaging in ritual fighting at the Phoebaeum.” ref

“Hans M. Barstad (2008) claimed that this ancient Greek attitude to war and religion differed from that of ancient Israel and Judah: ‘Quite unlike what we find with the Greeks, holy war permeated ancient Israelite society.’ Moreover, ever since the pioneering study of Manfred Weippert, “Heiliger Krieg in Israel und Assyrien” (1972), scholars have been comparing the holy war concept in the (monotheistic) Hebrew Bible with other (polytheistic) ancient Near Eastern war traditions, and found ‘many [striking] similarities in phraseology and ideology’.” ref

“In Greek antiquity, four (or five) wars were fought in and around the Panhellenic sanctuary at Delphi (the Pythia (Oracle) residing in the Temple of Apollo) against persons or states who allegedly committed sacrilegious acts before the god Apollo. The following are distinguished:

• The First Sacred War (595–585 BCE)
• The Second Sacred War (449–448 BCE)
• The Third Sacred War (356–346 BCE)
• The Fourth Sacred War (339–338 BCE)
• The Fifth Sacred War (281–280 BCE)

Firestone (2012) stated that in the eyes of ancient Rabbinic Judaism, the Maccabean Revolt (167–160 BCE), the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE) were “holy wars” or “Commanded Wars” (Hebrew: מלחמת מצווה Milkhemet Mitzvah).” ref

“The Saxon Wars (772–804) of Frankish king Charlemagne against the Saxons under Widukind were described by Jim Bradbury (2004) as ‘in essence a frontier struggle and a religious war against pagans – devil-worshippers according to Einhard.’ He noted that Charlemagne ordered the destruction of the Irminsul, an object sacred to the Saxons. Per Ullidtz (2010) stated that previous Frankish–Saxon conflicts spanning almost a century ‘had been mostly a border war’, ‘but under Charles it changed character’: because of ‘Charles’ idea of unity, of a king over all German tribes, and of universal Christianity in all of his kingdom, it changed into a mission from heaven.” ref 

“Similarly, a successful Carolingian campaign against the Pannonian Avars in the 790s led to their forced conversion to Christianity. The earlier Merovingian conquests of Thuringia, Allemannia, and Bavaria had also resulted in their Christianisation by 555, although the Frisians resisted with similar determinacy as the Saxons during the Frisian–Frankish wars (7th and 8th century), with both tribes killing several Christian missionaries in defense of their Germanic paganism, to the horror of Christian hagiographers.” ref

Crusades

“The Crusades are a prime example of wars whose religious elements have been extensively debated for centuries, with some groups of people in some periods emphasizing, restoring, or overstating the religious aspects, and other groups of people in some periods denying, nuancing, or downplaying the religious aspects of the Crusades in favor of other factors. Winkler Prins/Encarta (2002) concluded: “The traditional explanation for the Crusades (a religious enthusiasm that found an outlet in a Holy War) has also retained its value in modern historical scholarship, keeping in mind the fact that it has been pointed out that a complex set of socio-economic and political factors allowed this enthusiasm to manifest itself.” The Crusades against Muslim expansion in the 11th century were recognized as a “holy war” or a bellum sacrum by later writers in the 17th century. The early modern wars against the Ottoman Empire were seen as a seamless continuation of this conflict by contemporaries.” ref

Reconquista

“Jim Bradbury (2004) noted that the belligerents in the Reconquista were not all equally motivated by religion, and that a distinction should be made between ‘secular rulers’ on the one hand, and on the other hand Christian military orders which came from elsewhere (including the three main orders of Knights Templar, Knights Hospitaller, and Teutonic Knights), or were established inside Iberia (such as those of Santiago, Alcántara and Calatrava). ‘[The Knights] were more committed to religious war than some of their secular counterparts, were opposed to treating with Muslims, and carried out raids and even atrocities, such as decapitating Muslim prisoners. The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, known in Arab history as the Battle of Al-Uqab (معركة العقاب), was fought on 16 July 1212 and it was an important turning point in both the Reconquista and the medieval history of Spain. The forces of King Alfonso VIII of Castile were joined by the armies of his Christian rivals, Sancho VII of Navarre, Pedro II of Aragon, and Afonso II of Portugal in a battle against the Berber Muslim Almohad conquerors of the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula.” ref

Hussite Wars

“The relative importance of the various factors that caused the Hussite Wars (1419–1434) is debated. Kokkonen & Sundell (2017) claimed that the death of king Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia on 19 August 1419 is the event that sparked the Hussite rebellion against his nominal heir Sigismund (then king of Germany, Hungary, and Croatia), making it essentially a war of succession. Nolan (2006) named religion as one of several significant causes, summarising the Hussites’ motives as ‘doctrinal as well as “nationalistic” and constitutional’, and providing a series of issues that led to war: the trial and execution of Jan Hus (1415) ‘provoked the conflict’, the Defenestration of Prague (30 July 1419) ‘began the conflict’, while ‘fighting began after King Wenceslaus died, shortly after the defenestration’ (that is, after 19 August 1419).” ref 

“Nolan described the wars’ goals and character as follows: ‘The main aim of the Hussites was to prevent the hated Sigismund mounting the throne of Bohemia, but fighting between Bohemian Hussites and Catholics spread into Moravia. (…) cross-class support gave the Hussite Wars a tripartite and even “national” character unusual for the age, and a religious and social unity of purpose, faith, and hate’. Winkler Prins/Encarta (2002) described the Hussites as a ‘movement which developed from a religious denomination to a nationalist faction, opposed to German and Papal influence; in the bloody Hussite Wars (1419–1438), they managed to resist.’ It didn’t mention the succession of Wenceslaus by Sigismund, but noted elsewhere that it was Sigismund’s policy of Catholic Church unity which prompted him to urge Antipope John XXIII to convene the Council of Constance in 1414, which ultimately condemned Jan Hus.” ref

Soga–Mononobe conflict

Toltec religious wars

“There have been several religious wars in the Toltec Empire of Mesoamerica (c. 980–1110) between devotees of Tezcatlipoca and followers of Quetzalcoatl; the latter lost and were driven to flee to the Yucatán Peninsula.” ref

Religious/Ritual Violence

“Ritual violence may be directed against victims (e.g., human and nonhuman animal sacrifice and ritual slaughter) or self-inflicted (religious self-flagellation). According to the hunting hypothesis, created by Walter Burkert in Homo Necans, carnivorous behavior is considered a form of violence. Burkett suggests that the anthropological phenomenon of religion grew out of rituals that were connected with hunting and the associated feelings of guilt over the violence that hunting required.” ref

Pakistan and India

“The All India Muslim League (AIML) was formed in Dhaka in 1906 by Muslims who were suspicious of the Hindu-majority Indian National Congress. They complained that Muslim members did not have the same rights as Hindu members. A number of different scenarios were proposed at various times. This was fuelled by the British policy of “Divide and Rule”, which they tried to bring upon every political situation. Among the first to make the demand for a separate state was the writer/philosopher Allama Iqbal, who, in his presidential address to the 1930 convention of the Muslim League said that a separate nation for Muslims was essential in an otherwise Hindu-dominated subcontinent. After the dissolution of the British Raj in 1947, British India was partitioned into two new sovereign states—the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. In the resulting Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, up to 12.5 million people were displaced, with estimates of loss of life varying from several hundred thousand to a million. India emerged as a secular nation with a Hindu majority, while Pakistan was established as an Islamic republic with Muslim majority population.” ref

Nigerian conflict

“Inter-ethnic conflict in Nigeria has generally had a religious element. Riots against Igbo in 1953 and in the 1960s in the north were said to have been sparked by religious conflict. The riots against Igbo in the north in 1966 were said to have been inspired by radio reports of mistreatment of Muslims in the south. A military coup d’état led by lower and middle-ranking officers, some of them Igbo, overthrew the NPC-NCNC dominated government. Prime Minister Balewa along with other northern and western government officials were assassinated during the coup. The coup was considered an Igbo plot to overthrow the northern-dominated government. A counter-coup was launched by mostly northern troops. Between June and July, there was a mass exodus of Ibo from the north and west.” ref

“Over 1.3 million Ibo fled the neighboring regions in order to escape persecution as anti-Ibo riots increased. The aftermath of the anti-Ibo riots led many to believe that security could only be gained by separating from the North. In the 1980s, serious outbreaks between Christians and Muslims occurred in Kafanchan in southern Kaduna State in a border area between the two religions. The 2010 Jos riots saw clashes between Muslim herders against Christian farmers near the volatile city of Jos, resulting in hundreds of casualties. Officials estimated that 500 people were massacred in night-time raids by rampaging Muslim gangs.” ref

Buddhist uprising

“During the rule of the Catholic Ngo Dinh Diem in South Vietnam, the discrimination against the majority Buddhist population generated the growth of Buddhist institutions as they sought to participate in national politics and gain better treatment. The Buddhist Uprising of 1966 was a period of civil and military unrest in South Vietnam, largely focused in the I Corps area in the north of the country in central Vietnam. In a country where the Buddhist majority was estimated to be between 70 and 90 percent, Diem ruled with a strong religious bias. As a member of the Catholic Vietnamese minority, he pursued pro-Catholic policies that antagonized many Buddhists.” ref

Chinese conflict

“The Dungan revolt (1862–1877) and Panthay Rebellion (1856–1873) by the Hui were also set off by racial antagonism and class warfare, rather than the mistaken assumption that it was all due to Islam that the rebellions broke out. During the Dungan revolt fighting broke out between Uyghurs and Hui. In 1936, after Sheng Shicai expelled 20,000 Kazakhs from Xinjiang to Qinghai, the Hui led by General Ma Bufang massacred their fellow Muslims, the Kazakhs, until there were only 135 of them left. Tensions with Uyghurs and Hui arose because Qing and Republican Chinese authorities used Hui troops and officials to dominate the Uyghurs and crush Uyghur revolts.” ref 

“Xinjiang’s Hui population increased by over 520 percent between 1940 and 1982, an average annual growth rate of 4.4 percent, while the Uyghur population only grew by 1.7 percent. This dramatic increase in the Hui population led inevitably to significant tensions between the Hui and Uyghur Muslim populations. Some old Uyghurs in Kashgar remember that the Hui army at the Battle of Kashgar (1934) massacred 2,000 to 8,000 Uyghurs, which caused tension as more Hui moved into Kashgar from other parts of China. Some Hui criticizes Uyghur separatism, and generally do not want to get involved in conflicts in other countries over Islam for fear of being perceived as radical. Hui and Uyghur live apart from each other, praying separately and attending different mosques.” ref

Lebanese Civil War

“There is no consensus among scholars on what triggered the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). However, the militarization of the Palestinian refugee population, along with the arrival of the PLO guerrilla forces, sparked an arms race for the different Lebanese political factions. However, the conflict played out along three religious lines: Sunni Muslim, Christian Lebanese, and Shiite Muslim, Druze are considered among Shiite Muslims. It has been argued that the antecedents of the war can be traced back to the conflicts and political compromises reached after the end of Lebanon’s administration by the Ottoman Empire. The Cold War had a powerful disintegrative effect on Lebanon, which was closely linked to the polarization that preceded the 1958 political crisis. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, an exodus of Palestinian refugees, who fled the fighting or were expelled from their homes, arrived in Lebanon. Palestinians came to play a very important role in future Lebanese civil conflicts, and the establishment of Israel radically changed the local environment in which Lebanon found itself.” ref

“Lebanon was promised independence, which was achieved on 22 November 1943. Free French troops, who had invaded Lebanon in 1941 to rid Beirut of the Vichy French forces, left the country in 1946. The Christians assumed power over the country and its economy. A confessional parliament was created in which Muslims and Christians were given quotas of seats. As well, the president was to be a Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of Parliament a Shia Muslim. In March 1991, Parliament passed an amnesty law that pardoned all political crimes prior to its enactment.” ref

“The amnesty was not extended to crimes perpetrated against foreign diplomats or certain crimes referred by the cabinet to the Higher Judicial Council. In May 1991, the militias (with the important exception of Hezbollah) were dissolved, and the Lebanese Armed Forces began slowly to rebuild themselves as Lebanon’s only major non-sectarian institution. Some violence still occurred. In late December 1991 a car bomb (estimated to carry 220 pounds of TNT) exploded in the Muslim neighborhood of Basta. At least 30 people were killed, and 120 wounded, including former Prime Minister Shafik Wazzan, who was riding in a bulletproof car.” ref

Iran–Iraq War

“In the case of the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), the new revolutionary government of the Islamic Republic of Iran generally described the conflict as a religious war, and used the narrative of jihad to recruit, mobilize and motivate its troops. On the other hand, justifications from the Saddam Hussein-led Ba’athist Iraq were mostly framed in terms of a supposed Persian–Arab historical emnity, and Iraq-centred Arab nationalism (including support for Arab separatism in Khuzestan). Some of the underlying motives of Saddam appear to have been controlling the Shatt al-Arab waterway and region (previously settled by the 1975 Algiers Agreement, which had ended Imperial Iranian support for the 1974–75 Kurdish rebellion against the Iraqi government^{[113]: 3:27}), obtaining access to the oil reserves in Khuzestan, and exploiting the instability of post-Revolution Iran, including the failed 1979 Khuzestan insurgency.” ref 

“Peyman Asadzade (2019) stated: ‘Although the evidence suggests that religious motivations by no means contributed to Saddam’s decision to launch the war, an overview of the Iranian leaders’ speeches and martyrs’ statements reveals that religion significantly motivated people to take part in the war. (…) The Iranian leadership painted the war as a battle between believers and unbelievers, Muslims and infidels, and the true and the false.’ Iran cited religious reasons to justify continuing combat operations, for example in the face of Saddam’s offer of peace in mid-1982, rejected by Ayatollah Khomeini‘s declaration that the war would not end until Iran had defeated the Ba’athist regime and replaced it with an Islamic republic.” ref

“While Ba’athist Iraq has sometimes been described as a ‘secular dictatorship’ before the war, and therefore in ideological conflict with the Shia Islamic ‘theocracy‘ which seized control of Iran in 1979, Iraq also launched the so-called Tawakalna ala Allah (“Trust in God”) Operations (April–July 1988) in the final stages of the war. Moreover, the Anfal campaign (1986–1989; in a strict sense February–September 1988) was code-named after Al-Anfal, the eighth sura of the Qur’an which narrates the triumph of 313 followers of the new Muslim faith over almost 900 pagans at the Battle of Badr in the year 624. “Al Anfal” literally means the spoils (of war) and was used to describe the military campaign of extermination and looting commanded by Ali Hassan al-Majid (also known as “Chemical Ali”).” ref 

“His orders informed jash (Kurdish collaborators with the Baathists, literally “donkey’s foal” in Kurdish) units that taking cattle, sheep, goats, money, weapons, and even women as spoils of war was halal (religiously permitted or legal). Randal (1998, 2019) argued that ‘Al Anfal’ was ‘a curious nod to Islam’ by the Ba’athist government, because it had originally been known as a ‘militantly secular regime’. Some commentators have concluded that the code name was meant to serve as ‘a religious justification’ for the campaign against the Kurds.” ref

Yugoslav Wars

“The Croatian War (1991–95) and the Bosnian War (1992–95) have been viewed as religious wars between the Orthodox, Catholic, and Muslim populations of former Yugoslavia: respectively called “Serbs“, “Croats” and “Bosniaks” (or “Bosnian Muslims”). Traditional religious symbols were used during the wars. Notably, foreign Muslim volunteers came to Bosnia to wage jihad and were thus known as “Bosnian mujahideen“. Although the news media at the time and in the aftermath often described the conflicts as nationalist or ethnic in nature, some literary critics such as Christopher Hitchens (2007) have argued that they were religious wars (Catholic versus Orthodox versus Islamic), and that terms such as “Serb” and “Croat” were employed as mere euphemisms to conceal the religious core of the armed conflicts, even though the term “Muslims” was frequently used.” ref

Sudanese Civil War

“The Second Sudanese Civil War from 1983 to 2005 has been described as an ethnoreligious conflict where the Muslim central government’s pursuits to impose sharia law on non-Muslim southerners led to violence, and eventually to the civil war. The war resulted in the independence of South Sudan six years after the war ended. Sudan is majority-Muslim and South Sudan is majority-Christian.” ref

Honor Killing

“An honor killing (American English), honor killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of themselves or their family. Honor killings are often connected to religion, caste, and other forms of hierarchical social stratification, or to sexuality. Most often, it involves the murder of a woman or girl by male family members, due to the perpetrators’ belief that the victim has brought dishonor or shame upon the family name, reputation or prestige. Honor killings are believed to have originated from tribal customs. They are prevalent in various parts of the world, as well as in immigrant communities in countries that do not otherwise have societal norms that encourage honor killings. Honor killings are often associated with rural and tribal areas, but they occur in urban areas too.” ref

^“Although condemned by international conventions and human rights organizations, honor killings are often justified and encouraged by various communities. In cases where the victim is an outsider, not murdering this individual would, in some regions, cause family members to be accused of cowardice, a moral defect, and subsequently be morally stigmatized in their community. In cases when the victim is a family member, the murdering evolves from the perpetrators’ perception that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the entire family, which could lead to social ostracization, by violating the moral norms of a community. Typical reasons include being in a relationship or having associations with social groups outside the family that may lead to the social exclusion of a family (stigma-by-association).” ref

“Examples are having premarital, extramarital, or postmarital sex (in case of divorce or widowship), refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, seeking a divorce or separation, engaging in interfaith relations or relations with persons from a different caste, being the victim of a sexual crime, dressing in clothing, jewelry, and accessories which are associated with sexual deviance, engaging in a relationship in spite of moral marriage impediments or bans, and homosexuality. Though both men and women commit and are victims of honor killings, in many communities conformity to moral standards implies different behavior for men and women, including stricter standards for chastity for women. In many families, the honor motive is used by men as a pretext to restrict the rights of women. Honor killings are primarily associated with MENA countries, but are also rooted in other cultures, including India and the Philippines.” ref

“Human Rights Watch defines “honor killings” as follows:

Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members who are perceived to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by her family for a variety of reasons including, refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce—even from an abusive husband—or committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has acted in a manner to bring “dishonor” to the family is sufficient to trigger an attack.” ref

“Men can also be the victims of honor killings, either committed by members of the family of a woman with whom they are perceived to have an inappropriate relationship; or by the members of their own families, the latter often connected to homosexuality. Many honor killings are planned by multiple members of a family, sometimes through a formal “family council”. The threat of murder is used as a means to control behavior, especially concerning sexuality and marriage, which may be seen as a duty for some or all family members to uphold. Family members may feel compelled to act to preserve the reputation of the family in the community and avoid stigma or shunning, particularly in tight-knit communities. Perpetrators often do not face negative stigma within their communities, because their behavior is seen as justified.” ref

“Reliable figures of honor killings are hard to obtain, in large part because “honor” is either improperly defined or is defined in ways other than in Article 12 of the UDHR (block-quoted above) without a clear follow-up explanation. As a result, criteria are hardly ever given for objectively determining whether a given case is an instance of honor killing. Because of the lack of both a clear definition of “honor” and coherent criteria, it is often presupposed that more women than men are victims of honor killings, and victim counts often contain women exclusively. Honor killings occur in many parts of the world, but are most widely reported in the Middle East, South Asia, and North Africa. Historically, honor killings were also common in Southern Europe, and “there have been acts of ‘honor’ killings within living memory within Mediterranean countries such as Italy and Greece.” ref

Honor Killing Methods

“Methods of murdering include stoning, stabbing, beating, burning, beheading, hanging, throat slashing, lethal acid attacks, shooting, and strangulation. The murders are sometimes performed in public to warn the other individuals within the community of the possible consequences of engaging in what is seen as illicit behavior.” ref

Honor Killing and the Use of minors as perpetrators

“Often, minor girls and boys are selected by the family to act as the murderers, so that the murderer may benefit from the most favorable legal outcome. Boys and sometimes women in the family are often asked to closely control and monitor the behavior of their sisters or other females in the family, to ensure that the females do not do anything to tarnish the ‘honor’ and ‘reputation’ of the family. The boys are often asked to carry out the murder, and if they refuse, they may face serious repercussions from the family and community for failing to perform their “duty.” ref

General Cultural Features with Honor Killing

“The cultural features which lead to honor killings are complex. Honor killings involve violence and fear as a tool for maintaining control. Honor killings are argued to have their origins among nomadic peoples and herdsmen: such populations carry all their valuables with them and risk having them stolen, and they do not have proper recourse to law. As a result, inspiring fear, using aggression, and cultivating a reputation for violent revenge to protect property is preferable to other behaviors. In societies where there is a weak rule of law, people must build fierce reputations. In many cultures where honor is of a central value, men are sources, or active generators/agents, of that honor, while the only effect that women can have on honor is to destroy it. Once the family’s or clan’s honor is considered to have been destroyed by a woman, there is a need for immediate revenge to restore it, for the family to avoid losing face in the community.” ref

“As Amnesty International statement notes:

The regime of honor is unforgiving: women on whom suspicion has fallen are not allowed to defend themselves, and family members have no socially acceptable alternative but to remove the stain on their honor by attacking the woman.” ref

“The relation between social views on female sexuality and honor killings are complex. The way through which women in honor-based societies are considered to bring dishonor to men is often through their sexual behavior. Indeed, violence related to female sexual expression has been documented since Ancient Rome, when the pater familias had the right to kill an unmarried sexually active daughter or an adulterous wife. In medieval Europe, early Jewish law mandated stoning for an adulterous wife and her partner. Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, an anthropology professor at Rhode Island College, writes that an act, or even alleged act, of any female sexual misconduct, upsets the moral order of the culture, and bloodshed is the only way to remove any shame brought by the actions and restore social equilibrium. However, the relation between honor and female sexuality is a complicated one, and some authors argue that it is not women’s sexuality per se that is the ‘problem’, but rather women’s self-determination in regard to it, as well as fertility.” ref

“Sharif Kanaana, professor of anthropology at Birzeit University, says that honor killing is:

A complicated issue that cuts deep into the history of Islamic society. .. What the men of the family, clan, or tribe seek control of in a patrilineal society is reproductive power. Women for the tribe were considered a factory for making men. Honor killing is not a means to control sexual power or behavior. What’s behind it is the issue of fertility or reproductive power.” ref

“In some cultures, honor killings are considered less serious than other murders simply because they arise from long-standing cultural traditions and are thus deemed appropriate or justifiable. Additionally, according to a poll done by the BBC’s Asian network, 1 in 10 of the 500 young South Asians surveyed said they would condone any murder of someone who threatened their family’s honor. Nighat Taufeeq of the women’s resource center Shirkatgah in Lahore, Pakistan says: “It is an unholy alliance that works against women: the killers take pride in what they have done, the tribal leaders condone the act and protect the killers and the police connive the cover-up.” The lawyer and human rights activist Hina Jilani says, “The right to life of women in Pakistan is conditional on their obeying social norms and traditions.” ref

“A July 2008 Turkish study by a team from Dicle University on honor killings in the Southeastern Anatolia Region, the predominantly Kurdish area of Turkey, has so far shown that little if any social stigma is attached to honor killing. It also comments that the practice is not related to a feudal societal structure, “there are also perpetrators who are well-educated university graduates. Of all those surveyed, 60 percent are either high school or university graduates or at the very least, literate.” In contemporary times, the changing cultural and economic status of women has also been used to explain the occurrences of honor killings. Women in largely patriarchal cultures who have gained economic independence from their families go against their male-dominated culture. Some researchers argue that the shift towards greater responsibility for women and less for their fathers may cause their male family members to act in oppressive and sometimes violent manners to regain authority.” ref

“Fareena Alam, the editor of a Muslim magazine, writes that honor killings which arise in Western cultures such as Britain are a tactic for immigrant families to cope with the alienating consequences of urbanization. Alam argues that immigrants remain close to the home culture and their relatives because it provides a safety net. She writes that In villages “back home”, a man’s sphere of control was broader, with a large support system. In our cities full of strangers, there is virtually no control over who one’s family members sit, talk, or work with. Alam argues that it is thus the attempt to regain control and the feelings of alienation that ultimately leads to an honor killing.” ref

Specific triggers of honor killings

Refusal of an arranged or forced marriage

“Refusal of an arranged marriage or forced marriage is often a cause of an honor killing. The family that has prearranged the marriage risks disgrace if the marriage does not proceed, and the betrothed is indulged in a relationship with another individual without prior knowledge of the family members.” ref

Seeking a divorce

“A woman attempting to obtain a divorce or separation without the consent of the husband/extended family can also be a trigger for honor killings. In cultures where marriages are arranged and goods are often exchanged between families, a woman’s desire to seek a divorce is often viewed as an insult to the men who negotiated the deal. By making their marital problems known outside the family, the women are seen as exposing the family to public dishonor.

Allegations and rumors about a family member

“In certain cultures, an allegation against a woman can be enough to tarnish her family’s reputation, and to trigger an honor killing: the family’s fear of being ostracized by the community is enormous.” ref

Victims of rape

In many cultures, victims of rape face severe violence, including honor killings, from their families and relatives. In many parts of the world, women who have been raped are considered to have brought ‘dishonor’ or ‘disgrace’ to their families. This is especially the case if the victim becomes pregnant. Central to the code of honor, in many societies, is a woman’s virginity, which must be preserved until marriage. Suzanne Ruggi writes, “A woman’s virginity is the property of the men around her, first her father, later a gift for her husband; a virtual dowry as she graduates to marriage.” ref

Homosexuality

“There is evidence that homosexuality can also be perceived as grounds for honor killing by relatives. It is not only same-sex sexual acts that trigger violence—behaviors that are regarded as inappropriate gender expression (e.g. male acting or dressing in a “feminine way”) can also raise suspicion and lead to honor violence. In one case, a gay Jordanian man was shot and wounded by his brother. In another case, in 2008, a homosexual Turkish-Kurdish student, Ahmet Yildiz, was shot outside a cafe and later died in the hospital. Sociologists have called this Turkey‘s first publicized gay honor killing. In 2012, a 17-year-old gay youth was murdered by his father in Turkey in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.” ref

“The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees states that “claims made by LGBT persons often reveal exposure to physical and sexual violence, extended periods of detention, medical abuse, the threat of execution and honor killing.” A 2019 study found that antigay “honor” abuse found more support in four surveyed Asian countries (India, Iran, Malaysia, and Pakistan) and among Asian British people than in a White British sample. The study also found that women and younger people were less likely to support such “honor” abuse. Muslims and Hindus were substantially more likely to approve of “honor” abuse than Christians or Buddhists, who scored lowest of the examined religious groups.” ref

Forbidden male partners

“In many honor-based cultures, a woman maintains her honor through her modesty. If a man disrupts a woman’s modesty, through dating her, having sex with her (especially if her virginity was lost), the man has dishonored the woman, even if the relationship is consensual. Thus to restore the woman’s lost honor, the male members of her family will often beat and murder the offender. Sometimes, violence extends to the offender’s family members, since honor feud attacks are seen as family conflicts.” ref

Interfaith and outside the caste relations

“Some cultures have very strong caste social systems, based on social stratification characterized by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, customary social interaction, and exclusion based on cultural notions of purity and pollution. The caste system in India is such an example. In such cultures, it is often expected that one marries and forms closed associations only within one’s caste, and avoids lower castes. When these rules are violated, including relations with people of a different religion, this can result in violence, including honor killings.” ref

Socializing outside the home

In some cultures, women are expected to have a primarily domestic role. Such ideas are often based on practices like purdah. Purdah is a religious and social practice of female seclusion prevalent among some Muslim and Hindu communities; it often requires having women stay indoors, the avoiding of socialization between men and women, and full-body covering of women, including burqa. When these rules are violated, including by dressing in a way deemed inappropriate or displaying behavior seen as disobedient, the family may respond with violence up to honor killings.” ref

Renouncing or changing religion

“Violating religious dogma, such as changing or renouncing religion can trigger honor killings. Such ideas are supported by laws in some countries: blasphemy is punishable by death in Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia; and punishable by prison in many other countries. Apostasy is also illegal in 25 countries, in some punishable with the death penalty. There are multiple causes for which honor killings occur, and numerous factors interact with each other.” ref

“Honor killings are often a result of strongly misogynistic views towards women and the position of women in society. In these traditionally male-dominated societies, women are dependent first on their father and then on their husbands, whom they are expected to obey. Women are viewed as property and not as individuals with their own agency. As such, they must submit to male authority figures in the family—failure to do so can result in extreme violence as punishment. Violence is seen as a way of ensuring compliance and preventing rebellion. According to Shahid Khan, a professor at the Aga Khan University in Pakistan: “Women are considered the property of the males in their family irrespective of their class, ethnic, or religious group. The owner of the property has the right to decide its fate.” ref

“The concept of ownership has turned women into a commodity which can be exchanged, bought and sold”. In such cultures, women are not allowed to take control over their bodies and sexuality: these are the property of the males of the family, the father (and other male relatives) who must ensure virginity until marriage; and then the husband to whom his wife’s sexuality is subordinated—a woman must not undermine the ownership rights of her guardian by engaging in premarital sex or adultery.” ref

Religio-Cultures of Honor and Shame

“The concept of family honor is extremely important in many communities worldwide. The UN estimates that 5,000 women and girls are murdered each year in honor killings, which are widely reported in the Middle East and South Asia, but they occur in countries as varied as Brazil, Canada, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Egypt, Sweden, Syria, Uganda, United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries. In honor cultures, managing reputation is an important social ethic. Men are expected to act tough and be intolerant of disrespect and women are expected to be loyal to the family and be chaste. An insult to your personal or family honor must be met with a response, or the stain of dishonor can affect many others in the family and the wider community. Such acts often include female behaviors that are related to sex outside marriage or way of dressing, but may also include male homosexuality (like the emo killings in Iraq). The family may lose respect in the community and may be shunned by relatives. The only way they perceive that shame can be erased is through an honor killing. The cultures in which honor killings take place are usually considered “collectivist cultures“, where the family is more important than the individual, and individual autonomy is seen as a threat to the family and its honor.” ref

“Though it may seem in a modern context that honor killings are tied to certain religious traditions, the data does not support this claim. Research in Jordan found that teenagers who strongly endorsed honor killings in fact did not come from more religious households than teens who rejected it. The ideology of honor is a cultural phenomenon that does not appear to be related to religion, be it Middle Eastern or Western countries, and honor killings likely have a long history in human societies which predate many modern religions. In the US, a rural trend known as the “small-town effect” exhibit elevated incidents of argument-related homicides among white males, particularly in honor-oriented states in the South and the West, where everyone “knows your name and knows your shame.” This is similarly observed in rural areas in other parts of the world.” ref

“Honor cultures pervade in places of economic vulnerability and with the absence of the rule of law, where law enforcement cannot be counted on to protect them. People then resort to their reputations to protect them from social exploitation and a man must “stand up for himself” and not rely on others to do so. To lose your honor is to lose this protective barrier. Possessing honor in such a society can grant social status and economic and social opportunities. When honor is ruined, a person or family in an honor culture can be socially ostracized, face restricted economic opportunities, and have a difficult time finding a mate.” ref

Forced suicide as a substitute

“A forced suicide may be a substitute for an honor killing. In this case, the family members do not directly murder the victim themselves, but force him or her to commit suicide, in order to avoid punishment. Such suicides are reported to be common in southeastern Turkey. It was reported that in 2001, 565 women lost their lives in honor-related crimes in Ilam, Iran, of which 375 were reportedly staged as self-immolation. In 2008, self-immolation “occurred in all the areas of Kurdish settlement (in Iran), where it was more common than in other parts of Iran”. It is claimed that in Iraqi Kurdistan many deaths are reported as “female suicides” in order to conceal honor-related crimes.” ref

Restoring honor through a forced marriage

“In the case of an unmarried woman or girl associating herself with a man, losing virginity, or being raped, the family may attempt to restore its ‘honor’ with a ‘shotgun wedding’. The groom will usually be the man who has ‘dishonored’ the woman or girl, but if this is not possible the family may try to arrange a marriage with another man, often a man who is part of the extended family of the one who has committed the acts with the woman or girl. This being an alternative to an honor killing, the woman or girl has no choice but to accept the marriage. The family of the man is expected to cooperate and provide a groom for the woman.” ref

Honor Crimes and Religion

Widney Brown, the advocacy director of Human Rights Watch, said that the practice “goes across cultures and religions”.” ref

“Resolution 1327 (2003) of the Council of Europe states that:

The Assembly notes that whilst so-called “honor crimes” emanate from cultural and not religious roots and are perpetrated worldwide (mainly in patriarchal societies or communities), the majority of reported cases in Europe have been among Muslim or migrant Muslim communities (although Islam itself does not support the death penalty for honor-related misconduct).” ref

“Many Muslim commentators and organizations condemn honor killings as an un-Islamic cultural practice. There is no mention of honor killing (extrajudicial killing by a woman’s family) in the Qur’an, and the practice violates Islamic law. Tahira Shaid Khan, a professor of women’s issues at Aga Khan University, blames such murdering on attitudes (across different classes, ethnic, and religious groups) that view women as property with no rights of their own as the motivation for honor killings. Ali Gomaa, Egypt‘s former Grand Mufti, has also spoken out forcefully against honor killings.” ref

“As a more generic statement reflecting the wider Islamic scholarly trend, Jonathan A. C. Brown says that “questions about honor killings have regularly found their way into the inboxes of muftis like Yusuf Qaradawi or the late scholar Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah. Their responses reflect a rare consensus. No Muslim scholar of any note, either medieval or modern, has sanctioned a man killing his wife or sister for tarnishing her or the family’s honor. If a woman or man found together were to deserve the death penalty for fornication, this would have to be established by the evidence required by the Koran: either a confession or the testimony of four male witnesses, all upstanding in the eyes of the court, who actually saw penetration occur.” ref

“Further, while honor killings are common in Muslim countries like Pakistan and the Arab nation, it is a practically unknown practice in other Muslim countries, such as Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Senegal. This fact supports the idea that honor killings are to do with culture rather than religion. The late Yemeni Muslim scholar Muḥammad Shawkānī wrote that one reason the Shari’a stipulates execution as a potential punishment for men who murder women is to counter honor killings for alleged slights of honor. He wrote, “There is no doubt that laxity on this matter is one of the greatest means leading to women’s lives being destroyed, especially in the Bedouin regions, which are characterized by harsh-hardheartedness and a strong sense of honor and shame stemming from Pre-Islamic times.” ref

Honor Killings in History

“Matthew A. Goldstein, J.D. (Arizona), has noted that honor killings were encouraged in ancient Rome, where male family members who did not take action against the female adulterers in their families were “actively persecuted”. The origin of honor killings and the control of women is evidenced throughout history in the cultures and traditions of many regions. The Roman law of pater familias gave complete control to the men of the family over both their children and wives. Under these laws, the lives of children and wives were at the discretion of the men in their families. Ancient Roman Law also justified honor killings by stating that women who were found guilty of adultery could be killed by their husbands. During the Qing dynasty in China, fathers and husbands had the right to kill daughters who were deemed to have dishonored the family.” ref

“Among the Indigenous Aztecs and Incas, adultery was punishable by death. During John Calvin‘s rule of Geneva, women found guilty of adultery were punished by being drowned in the Rhône river. Honor killings have a long tradition in Mediterranean Europe. According to the Honour Related Violence – European Resource Book and Good Practice (page 234): “Honor in the Mediterranean world is a code of conduct, a way of life and an ideal of the social order, which defines the lives, the customs and the values of many of the peoples in the Mediterranean moral.” ref

Honor Killings by Region

“According to the UN in 2002:

The report of the Special Rapporteur… concerning cultural practices in the family that are violent towards women (E/CN.4/2002/83), indicated that honor killings had been reported in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon (the Lebanese Parliament abolished the Honor killing in August 2011), Morocco, Pakistan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Yemen, and other Mediterranean and Persian Gulf countries, and that they had also taken place in western countries such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom, within migrant communities.” ref

“In addition, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights gathered reports from several countries, and considering only the countries that submitted reports it was shown that honor killings have occurred in Bangladesh, Great Britain, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, Sweden, Turkey, and Uganda. According to Widney Brown, advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, the practice of honor killing “goes across cultures and religions.” ref

Sexism in Judaism (Old Testament):

Exodus 21:7 God not only sanctions selling ones daughter into slavery, but he also gives out laws on how it should be done.

Leviticus 27:3-7 God places a dollar value on human life; with women worth less than men.

Deuteronomy 22:23-24 women who are raped and fail to “cry out” likely enjoyed the attack thus should be killed.

 Sexism in Christianity (New Testament):

1 Corinthians 11:7 – 9 “For a man is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.

Romans 7:2 “For the woman who hath a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives.

Titus 2:4-9 “Train the young women to be submissive to their husbands.

Sexism in Islam:

Qur’an (4:11) – (Inheritance) The male shall have the equal of the portion of two females (see also verse 4:176).

Qur’an (4:24) and Qur’an (33:50) – A man is permitted to take women as sex slaves outside of marriage.

Qur’an (4:34) – Men are in charge of women and good women are the obedient, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other.

Sexism in Hinduism:

Manusmriti 5.148. In childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons; a woman must never be independent.

Manusmrti (9:2-4) – Men must make their women dependent day and night, and keep under their own control those who are attached to sensory objects. A woman is not fit for independence.

Rig Veda (8.33.33-34) – The mind of woman cannot be disciplined; she has very little intelligence.

Sexism in Buddhism:

Historical Buddha said the female’s defects greed, hate, delusion, and other defilements are greater than the male’s.

Historical Buddha who refused to ordain women as nuns. He said that allowing women into the sangha would cause his teachings to survive only half as long.

A popular belief in Buddhist countries is that negative karma results in a man being reborn as a woman and in Sukhavati-vyuha Sutra (Pure Land Buddhism) women must be reborn as men before they can enter Nirvana. Theravadan Buddhists claim a woman could never become a Buddha. The Ecclesiastical Buddhist Council of Thailand, announced publicly that any monk who supports the ordination of women will be subject to severe punishment.

Sexism in Shintoism:

The Kanamara Matsuri (“Festival of the Phallus”) is a Shinto celebration centred on a local penis-venerating shrine in Kawasaki, Japan. The legend being that a sharp-toothed demon (vagina dentata) hid inside the vagina of a young woman and castrated two young men on their wedding nights. As a result, the young woman sought help from a blacksmith, who fashioned an iron phallus to break the demon’s teeth, which led to the enshrinement of penis-venerating.

A spiritual practice specific to women involves a relationship to sight because they are always blind or visually impaired. Male sight, specifically women out of the public eye, occupies a privileged position in everything from ancient myths to the modern wedding ritual and continually exerts an oppressive influence on the lives of women, monitoring and impeding their public movements.

“Feminine Pollution” involves the idea in Shinto ritual, which has been used in the past to justify discrimination against women. Therefore, women have historically been pushed out of the public eye and out of public religious spaces because of their supposed impurity and to this day women are haunted by the belief in their inherent pollution.

Sexism in Sikhism:

The Gurus’ teaching on the role of women is stated as, “we are conceived and born from women. Woman is our life-long friend and keeps the race going. Why should we despise her, the one who gives birth to great men?” – Guru Granth Sahib Ji (the third Guru). Well, that still is saying its men that are great because of whom they are and women great only because they can produce great men still sounds like sexism to me.

Only Men as Guru only Men as the five Panj Pyare yes try to tell me of how Sikhism is completely equal to women…

Shiha Kaur a self-clamed feminist Sikh states,“ ancient cultural traditions sometimes take precedence over the principles of in Sikhism. Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, one of the most famous Sikh Kings in Moghul India often considered a model Sikh, had seven wives. Not only does polygamy go against Sikh beliefs but also half of his wives committed sati (widowed woman commits suicide by fire) when he died in 1839. In India today, school attendance of Sikh girls is lower than that of Sikh boys. The Asian Network has reported in the rise of Asian couples travelling to India to abort female fetuses and no sweets are shared among Sikh relatives to celebrate the birth of a girl, as usually happens when a boy is born.”

Sexism in Jainism:

Jainism does not teach that women can gain ultimate spiritual liberation, though a woman could strive to become a man in her next life so she could then reach enlightenment.

Jains believe, for example, that even microbes in the air and water are sacred life and any action that impacts other living things – such as driving or using electricity – can add to bad karma. Therefore, to Jains the bleeding which occurs in menstruation is thought to kill micro-organisms in the body, making the female body less nonviolent than the male body and the female body more prone to bad karma.

Digambara texts like Yuktiprabodha say that women’s genitals and breasts are sources of impurity and have many micro-organisms living in them. Digambara Jain theologians have written that due to bodily secretions, women suffer from itching which gives them uncontrollable sexual urges. They believe that women cannot take higher vows of ascetic renunciation, because naked women would have two deep emotions: shame of being naked and fear of sexual assault which they might face.

Sexism in Confucianism:

Confucius about women is “Shaoren and girls are difficult to handle. If you get familiar with them they cease to be humble. If you keep them away, they get resentful.” (Analects 17:25) This sure sounds insulting to women.

A well-known sexist Confucianism commandments is “Since the age of seven, men and women should not share a room or food” and “When young, a woman should obey the father, when married, the husband, when old, the son” are creations of later generation of Confucian scholars who developed a greater sexist tendency since the Tang dynasty era (618-907 C.E.).

According to the Confucian structure of society, women at every level were to occupy a position lower than men. Most Confucians accepted the subservience of women to men as natural and proper.

Sexism in Taoism:

The Tao sees the world as male (yang) and female (yin) which is very sexist. Some think the yin and yang are just good and bad. Never heard of it as sexist. But the white is male and the black is female. Chinese literature beginning with the classic cannon Yijing (book of Changes) we see sexism as we find the male (yang) symbolized as day or the sun embodying everything good and positive, and this status is identified with heaven. Whereas the female (yin) is symbolized as night or the moon embodying everything negative, evil and lowly. Ref

The idea of balancing male and female energies is fundamental to Taoism, and applies to women as well as to men.  One early practice was ritual sexual intercourse between men and women who were not married to one another.  These rituals followed strict guidelines, and the goal was the union of yin and yang energies. In the Taode jing offers a females role is made clear in passages like this one from Chapter 61: “The Feminine always conquers the Masculine by her quietness, by lowering herself through her quietness. The general stance on gender is there are attitudes expected of women, such as keeping a cheerful attitude or speaking in quiet tones. Divine marriages with deities were one very ancient version of this practice. Ref

 Taoist sexual (and sexist) practices: Sex and the concept of Yin and yang is important in Taoism. Man and Woman were the equivalent of heaven and earth, but became disconnected. Therefore, while heaven and earth are eternal, man and woman suffer a premature death. Every interaction between Yin and Yang had significance. Because of this significance, every position and action in lovemaking had importance. Taoist texts described a large number of special sexual positions that served to cure or prevent illness. The basis of all Taoist thinking is that qi is part of everything in existence. Qi is related to another energetic substance contained in the human body known as jing (精), and once all this has been expended the body dies. Jing can be lost in many ways, but most notably through the loss of body fluids. Taoists may use practices to stimulate/increase and conserve their bodily fluids to great extents. The fluid believed to contain the most Jing is semen. Women were often given a position of inferiority in sexual practice. Many of the texts discuss sex from a male point of view, and avoid discussing how sex could benefit women. Men were encouraged to not limit themselves to one woman, and were advised to have sex only with the woman who was beautiful and had not had children. While the man had to please the woman sexually, she was still just an object. At numerous points during the Ishinpō, the woman is referred to as the “enemy”; this was because the woman could cause him to spill semen and lose vitality. In later sexual texts from the Ming, women had lost all semblance of being human and were referred to as the “other,” “crucible”, or “stove” from which to cultivate vitality. The importance of pleasing the woman was also diminished in later texts. The practice was known as Caibu (採補), as a man enters many women without ejaculation. Women were also considered to be a means for men to extend men’s lives. Many of the ancient texts were dedicated explanation of how a man could use sex to extend his own life. But, his life was extended only through the absorption of the woman’s vital energies (jing and qi). Some Taoists called the act of sex “The battle of stealing and strengthening.” These sexual methods could be correlated with Taoist military methods. Instead of storming the gates, the battle was a series of feints and maneuvers that would sap the enemy’s resistance. Some Ming dynasty Taoist sects believed that one way for men to achieve longevity or ‘towards immortality’ is by having intercourse with virgins, particularly young virgins. Taoist sexual books, such as the Hsuan wei Hshin (“Mental Images of the Mysteries and Subtleties of Sexual Techniques”) and San Feng Tan Cheueh (“Zhang Sanfeng’s Instructions in the Physiological Alchemy”), written, respectively, by Zhao Liangpi and Zhang Sanfeng (not to be confused with semi-mythical Zhang Sanfeng who lived in an earlier period), call the woman sexual partner ding (鼎) and recommend sex with premenarche virgins. Zhao Liangpi concludes that the ideal ding is a premenarche virgin just under 14 years of age and women older than 18 should be avoided. Zhang Sanfeng went further and divided ding into three ranks: the lowest rank, 21- to 25-year-old women; the middle rank, 16- to 20-year-old menstruating virgins; the highest rank, 14-year-old premenarche virgins. Ref, Ref

Sexism in Bahaism:

Highest leadership of the religion where only men Central figures: Bahá’u’lláh The Báb `Abdu’l-Bahá aso all men.

Women are excluded from serving on the religion’s highest governing body, the Universal House of Justice, which is confined to men only is sexist and does constitute evidence of the Bahá’í Faith support of superiority of men over women.

In 1997, a Canadian fantasy writer was disenrolled, primarily for his outspokenness on email forums for women’s full inclusion in Baha’i administration. Furthermore, in the Baha’i Faith, there are particular cases of assignment of different roles to women and men at the level of individual life, family, and society.

Homosexuality and religion

Religion and LGBT people

“The relationship between religion and homosexuality has varied greatly across time and place, within and between different religions and denominations, with regard to different forms of homosexuality and bisexuality. The present-day doctrines of the world’s major religions and their denominations vary vastly in their attitudes toward these sexual orientations. Homosexuality was considered a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association until 1973, when activists pushed the organization to change this designation. It was only in 1987 that homosexuality was completely removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It was in the wake of the AIDS epidemic, which began in 1981, that the acceptance of homosexuality in the wider culture began to increase from something which previously had been close to non-existent.” ref

“Among the religious denominations which generally reject these orientations, there are many different types of opposition, ranging from quietly discouraging homosexual activity, explicitly forbidding same-sex sexual practices among their adherents and actively opposing social acceptance of homosexuality, supporting criminal sanctions up to capital punishment, and even to condoning extrajudicial killings. Religious fundamentalism often correlates with anti-homosexual bias.” ref

“Psychological research has connected religiosity with homophobic attitudes and physical antigay hostility, and has traced religious opposition to gay adoption to collectivistic values (loyalty, authority, purity) and low flexibility in existential issues, rather than to high prosocial inclinations for the weak. Attitudes toward homosexuality have been found to be determined not only by personal religious beliefs, but by the interaction of those beliefs with the predominant national religious context—even for people who are less religious or who do not share their local dominant religious context.” ref 

“Many argue that it is homosexual actions which are sinful, rather than same-sex attraction itself. “To this end, some discourage labeling individuals according to sexual orientation. Several organizations assert that conversion therapy can help diminish same-sex attraction. However, some adherents of many religions view homosexuality and bisexuality positively, and some denominations routinely bless same-sex marriages and support LGBT rights, a growing trend as much of the developed world enacts laws supporting LGBT rights.” ref 

“Historically, some cultures and religions accommodated, institutionalized, or revered same-sex love and sexuality; such mythologies and traditions can be found around the world. The status of homosexuality in Hinduism is ambiguous. Hindu texts contain few specific references to same-sex relations, though some punish it. Ayoni sex, which includes oral and anal sex, was not seen as a serious crime, and could be practiced in some cases. Sikh wedding ceremonies are non-gender specific, and so same-sex marriage is possible within Sikhism. Regardless of their position on homosexuality, many people of faith look to both sacred texts and tradition for guidance on this issue. However, the authority of various traditions or scriptural passages and the correctness of translations and interpretations are continually disputed.” ref

Abrahamic religions

“The Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, have traditionally forbidden sodomy, believing and teaching that such behavior is sinful. Today some denominations within these religions are accepting of homosexuality and inclusive of homosexual people, such as Reform Judaism, the United Church of Christ, and the Metropolitan Community Church. Some Presbyterian and Anglican churches welcome members regardless of same-sex sexual practices, with some provinces allowing for the ordination and inclusion of gay and lesbian clerics, and affirmation of same-sex unions. Reform Judaism incorporates lesbian and gay rabbis and same-sex marriage liturgies, while Reconstructionist Judaism and Conservative Judaism in the US allows for lesbian and gay rabbis and same-sex unions.” ref

Judaism

“The Torah (first five books of the Hebrew Bible) is the primary source for Jewish views on homosexuality. It states that: “[A man] shall not lie with another man as [he would] with a woman, it is a תועבה toeba (“abomination”)” (Leviticus 18:22). (Like many similar commandments, the stated punishment for willful violation is the death penalty, although in practice rabbinic Judaism no longer believes it has the authority to implement death penalties.)” ref

“Orthodox Judaism views homosexual acts as sinful. In recent years, there have been approaches claiming that only the sexual anal act is forbidden and considered an abomination by the Torah, while sexual orientation and even other sexual activities are not considered a sin. Conservative Judaism has engaged in an in-depth study of homosexuality since the 1990s, with various rabbis presenting a wide array of responsa (papers with legal arguments) for communal consideration. The official position of the movement is to welcome homosexual Jews into their synagogues, and also campaign against any discrimination in civil law and public society, but also to uphold a ban on anal sex as a religious requirement.” ref

“Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism in North America and Liberal Judaism in the United Kingdom view homosexuality to be acceptable on the same basis as heterosexuality. Progressive Jewish authorities believe either that traditional laws against homosexuality are no longer binding or that they are subject to changes that reflect a new understanding of human sexuality. Some of these authorities rely on modern biblical scholarship suggesting that the prohibition in the Torah was intended to ban coercive or ritualized homosexual sex, such as those practices ascribed to Egyptian and Canaanite fertility cults and temple prostitution.” ref

Christianity

Capital punishment (Death Penalty) for Homosexuality

“Capital punishment as a criminal punishment for homosexuality has been implemented by a number of countries in their history. It currently remains a legal punishment in several countries and regions, all of which have sharia-based criminal laws. Gay people also face extrajudicial killings by state and non-state actors, as in Chechnya in 2019, though it is denied by the Chechen authorities and Russia. Imposition of the death penalty for homosexuality may be classified as judicial murder of gay people, which has been analyzed as a form of genocide.” ref

LGBT rights by country or territory, LGBT in Islam, Capital punishment for adultery, and Sharia § Islamization

“As of July 2020, the following jurisdictions prescribe the death penalty for homosexuality:

•  Afghanistan. A new Penal Code enacted in February 2018 explicitly criminalizes same-sex sexual conduct. Sources cited by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGBTIA) indicate that there is a “broad consensus amongst scholars that execution was the appropriate punishment if homosexual acts could be proven”. The sharia category of zina (illicit sexual intercourse), which according to some traditional Islamic legal schools may entail the hadd (sharia-prescribed) punishment of stoning, when strict evidential requirements are met. The Hanafi school, prevalent in Afghanistan, does not regard homosexual acts as a hadd crime, although Afghan judges may potentially apply the death penalty for a number of reasons. No known death sentences for homosexuality have been passed since the end of Taliban rule in 2001. However, following the 2021 Taliban offensive, fears of reprisal including death for those suspected of homosexuality were renewed.
•  Brunei‘s Sharia Penal Code, implemented in stages since 2014, prescribes death by stoning as punishment for same-sex relations. After international backlash, in May 2019, the Sultan of Brunei explained that a “de facto” moratorium on the execution of the death penalty has been in force in the country for the last two decades. The moratorium was recently lifted.

•  Iran. Male-male anal intercourse is declared a capital offense in Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, enacted in 1991. Articles 233 through 241 criminalise both female and male same-sex activity; for a first offence, the death penalty only applies to some cases of male-male penile-anal intercourse, with female-female activity and other cases of male-male activity being punished by flogging instead of execution. Under the combination of articles 136 and 238, a woman convicted for the fourth time of the crime of musaheqeh (tribadism) is to be executed; there is no death penalty for non-genital-genital female-female sexual conduct. Though the grounds for execution in Iran are difficult to track, there is evidence that several gay men were executed in 2005–2006, 2016, and in 2022 mostly on alleged charges of rape.
•  Iraq. Although homosexuality itself is legal since 2003 LGBT can be charged under public indecency law 401. People may face execution by vigilantes and Sharia courts set up by insurgents. These have still occurred recently.
•  Mauritania. According to a 1984 law, Muslim men can be stoned for engaging in homosexual sex, though no executions have occurred so far. The country has observed a moratorium on the execution of the death penalty since 1987.
•  Nigeria, where several northern states have adopted sharia-based criminal laws, though no executions are known.
•  Qatar, same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Penal Code 2004, which criminalizes acts of ‘sodomy’ and ‘sexual intercourse’ between people of the same sex. These provisions carry a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment. Both men and women are criminalized under this law. Also, the death penalty is applicable only to Muslims, for extramarital sex regardless of the gender of the participants. However, there is no evidence that the death penalty has been applied for consensual same-sex relations in private taking place between adults.
•  Saudi Arabia, which does not have codified criminal laws. According to the country’s interpretation of sharia, a married man who commits sodomy, or a non-Muslim who engages in sodomy with a Muslim, can be stoned to death. There are unconfirmed reports that two cross-dressing Pakistani nationals were killed by Saudi authorities in 2017, which Saudi officials have denied. No other executions are known. Homosexuality in Saudi Arabia is proven by four eyewitnesses who have seen the penetration, or a self-confession; if these conditions are not met they can’t be stoned but can be given discretionary punishments like lashing and jails.
•  Somalia ( Jubaland), where insurgents and Somali officials have imposed sharia-based law in some regions.
•  United Arab Emirates Article 354 of the Federal Penal Code states: “shall be sentenced to the death penalty, whoever used coercion in having sexual intercourse with a female or sodomy with a male.” In addition, same-sex relations fall under the traditional Sharia category of Zina, which encompasses any sexual intercourse outside of marriage, all of which are banned in the UAE. Some courts have gone beyond codified laws and passed sentences of stoning or flogging, thus making same-sex relationships liable to the death penalty.
•  Yemen Punishment for homosexuality in Yemen can originate from the codified penal code, or from people seeking to enforce traditional Islamic morality. Article 264 of the national penal code prohibits private consensual homosexual acts between adult men. The stipulated punishment in the law for unmarried men is 100 lashes and up to a year in prison. The law stipulates that married men convicted of homosexuality are to be put to death by stoning. Article 268 of the national penal code prohibits private consensual homosexual acts between adult women. The law stipulates that premeditated acts of lesbianism are punished with up to three years in prison. In addition to the penal code, punishment for homosexuality can originate from people seeking to enforce traditional morality within their own family or for the broader society. In vigilante cases such as this, the punishment for homosexuality is oftentimes death.” ref

Extrajudicial killings

“In some regions, gay people have been murdered by Islamist militias, such as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in parts of Iraq, Libya, and Syria, the Houthi movement in Yemen, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Anti-gay purges in the Chechen Republic, a predominantly Muslim region of Russia, have included forced disappearances—secret abductions, imprisonment, and torture—by local Chechen authorities targeting persons based on their perceived sexual orientation. Of 100 men, who authorities detained on suspicion of being gay or bisexual, three have reportedly died after being held in what human rights groups and eyewitnesses have called concentration camps.” ref

“In February 2016 Hamas, which controls the Palestinian National Authority and rules Gaza, executed by firing squad Mahmoud Ishtiwi—one of the group’s leading commanders—for homosexual activity. Reports of vigilante executions, beatings, and torture have been reported in heavily Christian and Muslim regions of Africa, in countries such as Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, and Senegal. In these countries, police turn a blind eye or even are complicit in the anti-gay violence.” ref

Capital punishment (Death Penalty) for Homosexuality in History

Australia

“Australian states and territories first passed laws against homosexuality during the colonial era, and nineteenth-century colonial parliaments retained provisions which made homosexual activity a capital offence until 1861. Most jurisdictions removed capital punishment as a sentence for homosexual activity, although in Victoria it remained as such when committed while also inflicting bodily harm or to a person younger than the age of fourteen until 1949. The last person arrested for homosexual sex in Australia was a man in 1984 in Tasmania. The last part of Australia to legalize consensual homosexual sex between adults was Tasmania in 1997. In 2017, same-sex marriage was legalized by the Australian government.” ref

“Of the seven men in Australian history known to have been executed for sodomy, six cases involved the sexual abuse of minors; only one of the seven cases was for consensual acts between adults. In that sole case, Alexander Browne was hanged at Sydney on 22 December 1828 for sodomy with his shipmate William Lyster on the whaler Royal Sovereign; Lyster was also convicted and sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted before execution. Additionally, Joseph Fogg was hanged at Hobart on 24 February 1830 for an “unnatural crime”, but the nature of the crime is unclear.” ref

Germany

“During the period of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, homosexual men were persecuted with thousands being imprisoned in concentration camps (and eventually extermination camps) by the Nazi regime. Roughly 5,000–15,000 were sent to the concentration camps, with the death rate being estimated to be as high as 60%. Homosexuals in the camps suffered an unusual degree of cruelty by their captors, including being used as target practice on shooting ranges.” ref

“In a 1937 speech, Himmler argued that SS men who had served sentences for homosexuality should be transferred to a concentration camp and shot while trying to escape. This policy was never implemented, and some SS men were acquitted on homosexuality charges despite evidence against them. A few death sentences against SS men for homosexual acts were pronounced between 1937 and 1940. In a speech on 18 August 1941, Hitler argued that homosexuality should be combatted throughout Nazi organizations and the military. In particular, homosexuality in the Hitler Youth must be punished by death in order to protect youth from being turned into homosexuals. The Hitler Youth never implemented this policy against the thousands of its members engaging in homosexual acts at youth hostels and camps.” ref

“After learning of Hitler’s remark, Himmler decided that the SS must be at least as tough on homosexuality and drafted a decree mandating the death penalty to any member of the SS and police found guilty of engaging in a homosexual act. Hitler signed the decree on 15 November 1941 on the condition that there be absolutely no publicity, worried that such a harsh decree might lend fuel to left-wing propaganda that homosexuality was especially prevalent in Germany. Since it could not be published in the SS newspaper, the decree was communicated to SS men one-on-one by their superiors.” ref

“However, this was not done consistently and many arrested men asserted that they had no knowledge of the decree. Even after the decree, only a few death sentences were pronounced. Himmler often commuted the sentence especially if he thought that the accused was not a committed homosexual, but had suffered a one-time mistake (particularly while drunk). Many of those whose sentence was commuted were sent to serve in the Dirlewanger Brigade, a penal unit on the Eastern Front, where most were killed. After late 1943, because of military losses, it was the policy to recycle SS men convicted of homosexuality into the Wehrmacht.” ref

“The 1933 law on habitual criminals also allowed for execution after the third conviction. On 4 September 1941 a new law allowed the execution of dangerous sex offenders or habitual criminals when “the protection of the Volksgemeinschaft or the need for just atonement require it”. This law enabled authorities to pronounce death sentences against homosexuals, and is known to have been employed in four cases in Austria. In 1943, Wilhelm Keitel, head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, authorized the death penalty for soldiers convicted of homosexuality in “particularly serious cases”. However, only a few executions of homosexual Wehrmacht soldiers are known, mostly in conjunction with other charges, especially desertion. Some homosexuals were executed at Nazi euthanasia centers, such as Bernburg or Meseritz-Obrawalde. It is difficult to estimate the number of homosexuals directly killed during the Nazi era.” ref

Sudan

“In July 2020, the sodomy law that previously punished gay men with up to 100 lashes for the first offence, five years in jail for the second, and the death penalty the third time around was abolished, with new legislation reducing the penalty to prison terms ranging from five years to life. Sudanese LGBT+ activists hailed the reform as a ‘great first step’, but said it was not enough yet, and the end goal should be the decriminalization of gay sexual activity altogether.” ref

United Kingdom

“From 1533, under the Buggery Act 1533, a capital felony for any person to “commit the detestable and abominable vice of buggery with mankind or beast”, was enacted, repealed, and re-enacted several times by the Crown, until it was reinstated permanently in 1563. Homosexual activity remained a capital offense until 1861. The last execution took place on 27 November 1835 when James Pratt and John Smith were hanged outside Newgate Prison in London.” ref

United States

Sodomy laws in the United States

“During the colonial era of American history, the various European nations which established colonies in the Americas brought their pre-existing laws against homosexuality (which included capital punishment) with them. The establishment of the United States after their victory in the Revolutionary War did not bring about any changes in the status of capital punishment as a sentence for being convicted of homosexual behavior. Beginning in the 19th century, the various state legislatures passed legislation that ended the status of capital punishment being used for those who were convicted of homosexual behavior. South Carolina was the last state, in 1873, to repeal the death penalty for homosexual behavior from its statute books. The number of times the penalty was carried out is unknown. Records show there were at least two executions, and a number of more convictions with vague labels, such as “crimes against nature.” ref

“Religion is an Evolved Product” and Yes, Religion is Like Fear Given Wings…

Atheists talk about gods and religions for the same reason doctors talk about cancer, they are looking for a cure, or a firefighter talks about fires because they burn people and they care to stop them. We atheists too often feel a need to help the victims of mental slavery, held in the bondage that is the false beliefs of gods and the conspiracy theories of reality found in religions.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Religious Trauma Syndrome?

Here is one of my friends:

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Damien Marie AtHope (Said as “At” “Hope”)/(Autodidact Polymath but not good at math):

Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist, Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Jeweler, Poet, “autodidact” Philosopher, schooled in Psychology, and “autodidact” Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Pre-Historian (Knowledgeable in the range of: 1 million to 5,000/4,000 years ago). I am an anarchist socialist politically. Reasons for or Types of Atheism

My Website, My Blog, & Short-writing or Quotes, My YouTube, Twitter: @AthopeMarie, and My Email: damien.marie.athope@gmail.com