How Does Religion Cause Genocides

Throughout history, religion has been used for good and bad. It can be used as a source of hope or to inspire people, partially why it is valued by so many. Some value religion greatly because they see it as a way to connect with God. However, some others do not support or value religion because of what it causes or can be used for. Religion can cause conflict between individuals or groups of people. It can also be manipulated or distorted to rationalize immoral actions. Religion can cause genocide, motivate war, and be used to control people. Religion can cause genocides, which can be seen with the Salem Witch Trials and Westward Expansion. In Salem, Massachusetts, accusations of townspeople being witches were rampant between 1692 and 1693.
The use of religion to cause genocides can be seen with the Salem Witch Trials and Westward Expansion. The Puritans in the New England town were so afraid of evil that they started accusing people of being witches, which led to further accusations and people being put to death. Americans claimed that God wanted them to expand into the land owned by the Native Americans. However, the Americans’ actions when they moved into the land and interacted with the Natives resulted in the death of many Native Americans. Religion being able to motivate wars was seen with the Texas Revolution and the American Revolution. One of the stipulations the Mexican government had for the Americans who moved into Texas were that they had to convert to Catholicism. They did not, angering the Mexican government which helped motivate the revolution. The colonial Americans believed that revolting against Great Britain was justified in the eyes of God. Their religious beliefs justified their actions against the British, thus religion motivated the war because the colonial Americans could fight without fear of going against God. Religion can be used to control, which has been seen with slavery and scaring people into joining a certain religion. Slave owners used the Bible to justify their ownership of slaves, therefore justifying the control the owners had over their slaves. Religion has been used to control people by scaring them into doing certain things. Preacher Jonathan Edwards controlled unconverted members of his congregation by scaring them into converting by describing them being held by God over Hell and that if God wanted to, he could let go and they would fall into the pits of Hell. Overall, this helps people understand the negative ways that religion has been used and how it could be used negatively in the future. This topic is important because it reveals how religion can be used in