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Nation shall rise against nation...
by David Bamber
'Most wars are caused by religion', it is often said, along with 'Religion and politics
do not mix' and 'Religion is a private matter'. These statements are intended to have
the effect of disarming politically conscious Christians and to take consideration of
faith out of politics. But to what extent has religion been the cause of wars? Do nations
with a Christian political character fare better or worse than secular states? The table
on the right summarises the 30 Worst Atrocities of the 20th Century.
From the table, it can be seen that religious conflicts where one nation or group
seeks to impose its faith on another does not even figure in the list of worst atrocities.
The worst cause of war in the 20th century has been the consequences of Marxist/Atheist
philosophy. Nazism closely follows. Nazism is principally a 'religion' of racist nationalism.
Out of those nations which have suffered civil war (15 total on the list), only two involved
nations with a Christian heritage (Russia and Spain). In the case of Russia, Marxist (atheist)
leaders (Trotsky and Lenin) were central to the unrest. In the case of Spain the conflict was
between two atheist ideologies: Marxism and Fascism.
It may be argued that most wars result from irreligion.
Data taken from a web site owned by Matthew White.
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The Thirty Worst Atrocities of the 20th Century
| | Death Toll | Event | Dates | Cause |
| 1 | 50,000,000 | Second World War | 1937-1945 | Nazism (atheist) |
| 2 | 48,250,000 | China - Mao Zedong's regime | 1949-1976 | Atheist Marxist - repression of opposition |
| 3 | 20,000,000 | USSR - Stalin's regime | 1924-1953 | Atheist Marxist - repression of opposition |
| 4 | 15,000,000 | First World War | 1914-1918 | Rivalry between emerging superpowers |
| 5 | 8,800,000 | Russian Civil War | 1918-1921 | Civil War |
| 6 | 4,000,000 | China, warlord and nationalist era | 1917-1937 | Civil War |
| 7 | 3,000,000 | Congo Free State | 1900-1908 | Repression by occupying power |
| 8 | 2,800,000 | Korean War | 1950-1953 | Confrontation between superpowers / Marxism |
| 9 | 2,700,000 | Second Indo China War | 1960-1975 | Superpower conflict |
| 10 | 2,500,000 | Chinese Civil War | 1945-1949 | Civil War |
| 11 | 2,100,000 | German Expulsions after WW2 | 1945-1947 | Communist states expel former enemies |
| 12 | 1,900,000 | Second Sudanese Civil War | 1983- | Civil War |
| 13 | 1,700,000 | Congolese Civil War | 1998- | Civil War |
| 14 | 1,650,000 | Cambodian Khmer Rouge | 1975-1979 | Atheist Marxist - repression of opposition |
| 15 | 1,400,000 | Afghanistan Civil War | 1980-2000 | Civil War |
| 16 | 1,400,000 | Ethiopian Civil War | 1962-1992 | Civil War |
| 17 | 1,250,000 | Mexican Revolution | 1910-192? | Revolution |
| 18 | 1,250,000 | East Pakistan Massacres | 1971 | War of secession |
| 19 | 1,000,000 | Iran-Iraq War | 1980-1988 | Regional power struggle |
| 20 | 800,000 | Nigeria - Biafran Revolt | 1967-1970 | Civil War |
| 21 | 800,000 | Mozambique Civil War | 1976-1992 | Civil War |
| 22 | 800,000 | Rwandan Massacres | 1994 | Civil War |
| 23 | 650,000 | French-Algerian War | 1954-1962 | War of independence |
| 24 | 600,000 | First Indo China War | 1954-1962 | Border dispute |
| 25 | 500,000 | India-Pakistan Partition | 1945-1954 | Civil War |
| 26 | 500,000 | Indonesia massacre of Communists | 1965-1967 | Civil War |
| 27 | 500,000 | Angolan Civil War | 1975-1994 | Civil War |
| 28 | 500,000 | First Sudanese Civil War | 1955-1972 | Civil War |
| 29 | 500,000 | Decline of Amazonian Indians | 1900-1999 | Genocide |
| 30 | 365,000 | Spanish Civil War | 1926-1939 | Civil War |
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