Reply #68: Say instead Religion is one of the primary excuses -

[haele]

It really all boils down to "us against them" - and fearful people will use Religion as evidence to determine who "them" is. The reason for War is desire for power, fear of losing power, and hate of the unknown.
Every dictator, every leader, whether they claimed to be defending their faith or lack of a particular faith used religion as a scapegoat to wage war or initiate unjust actions. When faith is no longer a personal choice and becomes public policy, you know there's either a war or a pogrom that will be coming up soon.

Don't give those who feel the need to project their religious choices throughout history into a discussion a chance to muddy it. Fear -(known to many of my religious friends as "Anti-Faith") is the real killer of morals. Whether you're Atheist or Faithful, if you aren't afraid - of loss of community status, loss of power, loss of "face", loss of your resources - you'll be less likely to be brutal or hateful to the different than if you are fearful.

Both Torquemada and Stalin shared the same excuses - They wanted personal power and were so afraid of being challenged, they became brutal and murderous. Didn't matter what religious state they personally lived in, they were driven by fear. The only difference is which side of their personal beliefs concerning religion they used as an excuse to rally or exclude their people.

Haele