The religion alone does not cause civil war, study says, but you can find at least two reasons for starting the armed conflict: economic and political. As a matter of fact, this lack of political influence is often a trigger for the outbreak of hostilities. The most recent example is the bitter situation in Syria, ISIS and unhealthy economic status of the country.
Religion alone does not cause civil war, says the study author Assistant Professor Lasse Lykke Rørbæk from the Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Denmark. Any religion as itself doesn’t appeal to the war or hostility, indeed the political or economical trigger can color the religion in the dark tones of the hate and inhumanity.
The example of Syria shows that country has split into different rebel groups, according to the classic axiom: ‘Divide and rule’. Some rebel groups in Syria supported by world powers (USA and Russia) and ISIS fights in the name of Allah. The latter uses the religion as a reason to fight for new government.
Many believe that conflicts such as this develop on solely religious grounds, but a new study has discovered that religion is no more influential than language, race, or other identifying cultural traits, says Assistant Professor Lasse Lykke Rørbæk:
“Rebel groups typically fight for political power and control and often form groups according to ethnic affiliations. They may equally well form factions according to language or skin colour, than religion.”
In fact, civil war often starts when groups of people are excluded from society, and this reason is simple and understandable. It gives to excluded group (and its spiritual leader) a reason to challenge those in power, which can lead to civil war in many cases. The history of human race is the history of wars, too.
