Much as It would easy to attribute our propensity to kill each other to our addiction to mumbo-jumbo (see above), it’s not the case. We’re just violent and nasty given the chance, and the gods we invent largely prove that, without religion we have ethnicity, long borne grudges and the fact that your valley is nice, I want your valley, but you outnumber me a bit, ooh I came in the night and cut your throats and I have your valley.
It’s estimated that only 6% of wars are religious in intent rather than just wars of expansion between differing faiths, and it is depressing to note, in that 6% how many of those conflicts are internecine, one branch of the same belief butchering the other over interpretation of some ancient gibberish, reminds me of the Emo joke;
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump.
I said, "Don't do it!"
He said, "Nobody loves me."
I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"
He said, "Yes."
I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?"
He said, "A Christian."
I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?"
He said, "Protestant."
I said, "Me, too! What franchise?"
He said, "Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?"
He said, "Northern Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912."
I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.
Religion will do as an excuse, but there are plenty others, Europe was traditionally riven with war, usually because of inbred monarchs arguing over strips of land and crowns. We went to war with Spain over an ear, Honduras and El Salvador had one over football, we’re fucked because we’re stupid, god’s a part of that stupidity, but so are flags and pride.