In Reply to: re: re: re: re: has contributed to the enrichment of peoples lives posted by The Lenin Hall on February 22, 2008 at 15:27:58:

If youre going to try and back up your argument with statistics it might be an idea to make sure theyre accurate.

Its genetrally accepted (by all but a handful of neo-nazi nutcases) that the number of Jews killed by the Nazi's was around 5.8 million. The Nazi definition of Jewishness was based as much on ethnicity as on actual religious practice nevertheless religion was a major factor behind the general tide of anti-semitisim sweeping Europe at the time. Lets not overlook the other groups targetted by the Nazi's either In the case of least four (Communists, Freemasons , Homosexuals, and Jehovas Witnesses) religion would presumably have been an underlying motive as well.

Estimates for the numbers killed by Stalin vary from 20 to as much as 70 million but then as the man himself observed "a single death is a tragedy a million deaths is a statistic" !

One million seems a conservative an estimate for the Crusades and we seem to have completly left out the Spanish inquisition. Not to mention The genocides in America, Australia and the Americas where although the motives were primarly economic religion played a significant part. And then theres latter day conflicts in India/Pakistan, Israel, Rawanda, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo......

While some communist regiemes did indeed brutally supress (or attempt to supress) religious tendencies others tolerated them albeit somewhat disapprovingly. On the other hand brutally supressing religious tendencies was hardly the preserve of Communist regiemes. Revolutionary France or El Salvador under the (CIA sponsored) junta were hardly renowned for being havens of religious liberty !

And while Religion may not have been the SOLE cause of the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland (and surely its nearer FORTY years at this stage ?) but to deny the fact that it was one of the main causes would be rather silly !