The Driving Force Behind The Crusades

The idea that was the driving force behind the crusades was that Christianity must replace previously held Islamic and Judaic beliefs at any price, even the lives of others. The people of the world must be saved through their belief in the Christian God, no matter the cost, even if violence was to be used. All throughout Europe, Jews were persecuted, and eventually Jerusalem was captured. Jewish and Muslim people living within the city were murdered; this included the slaughter of women and children. All this blood-shed for a short-lived Christian kingdom in the Middle-East which eventually proved to be unsustainable, and forced other civilizations to distrust the Roman Catholic Church by the end of the crusades. The Animosity grew heavy between Byzantine and the Roman Catholics and the crusaders pushed to take over the capital of the Byzantine Empire,
Once the Byzantine Empire was defeated the rest of Europe fell like a house cards to the Ottoman Empire. Whether through fear or awe and admiration, loyalty to the Church was on the rise throughout Europe, and unfortunately, as a result of the crusades, religious tolerance was at an all-time low. Throughout Europe entire Jewish communities were destroyed and in some cases their residents put to the slaughter. The Crusades were a dark time, and was a great example of how much damage and harm religion has had on society as a whole. Perhaps one of the few positive effects the Crusades had was the knowledge of Asian culture we gained. Asian influence helped pushed Europe into a more cosmopolitan society, and perhaps even helped pave the way for the Renaissance that would eventually sweep Europe. Overall the Crusades were one huge mistake, and the cost hundreds of thousands innocent lives all in the name of one religion: