Thread by @RealTraderJill

Debunking Christianity's War Death Toll

🧵You know that old line about how Christianity's responsible for more wars and deaths than anything else in history? I've heard it a ton, but when you actually look at the data, it doesn't really hold up. Let's unpack this using stuff from the "Encyclopedia of Wars" and some solid breakdowns - it's eye-opening. 1/8

So, this book by Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod from 2005 lists out 1,763 wars throughout history (or sometimes cited as 1,780, depending on how you count some entries). The key thing is, it doesn't slap a "religious" label on every war upfront, but from the index and deeper dives, only around 123-124 of them seem tied to religion at all; that's like 7% tops. Already, that pokes holes in the idea that religion, especially Christianity, is behind most conflicts. Most wars? They're usually about land grabs, power plays, or straight-up resources. 2/8

One re-analysis breaks it down even further: Out of 1,780 wars, 124 get pegged as religious. When you sort by religion based on the entries, Islam shows up in 66, Catholicism in 60, Protestantism in 28, Eastern Orthodox in 19, and general Christianity in 10; plus a few others like Judaism or Paganism. Lumping all Christian ones together? Maybe 117-128 mentions, but remember, that's across just those 124 wars, and there's overlap (think Crusades, which involve both sides). 3/8

Point is, even giving Christianity the bulk of those, it's still a tiny slice of all wars ever. Compare that to territorial stuff racking up 585 wars (about 26%) or political squabbles at 449 (20%). Folks like Sam Harris push that religion's the big violence machine, but nah; 5-7% religious wars total? That's not "most" by any stretch. 4/8

The encyclopedia's index has 121 entries under "religious wars" (bumping to 122 for a double-up), and yeah, it's not some super-rigorous system - more like a handy reference. Some people tweak it to 123, but the takeaway's the same: Religion isn't the main culprit. Strip out Islamic-linked ones, and Christianity's share drops below 4% of all wars. 5/8

Now, on the death toll side: Check out Matthew White's "Atrocitology;" he looks at the 100 worst human-made disasters, and only 11% link back to religion (47 million deaths out of 455 million total), while communism alone hits 15% (67 million). Steven Pinker echoes this: 20th-century stuff under guys like Stalin, Mao, and Hitler? Way more bodies than religious wars over centuries. 6/8

Take classics like the Crusades or the Thirty Years' War; they had religious vibes, sure, but dig in and it's a mix with politics and territory. Or the Troubles in Northern Ireland? That's way more about nationalism than pure faith. Bottom line, Christianity didn't cause "most" wars or deaths; other things like secular regimes and plain old human greed take the cake. Not saying religion's spotless, but let's keep it real with the facts. 7/8

If you're curious, Andrew Holt's critique or that Medium re-analysis are great reads.

Now that you're armed with the truth, don't let atheists or other bad actors get away with this horrendous lie!