Mark Juergensmeyer is right in arguing that war cannot be blamed on religion, but that neither can religion and war be entirely separated. What he calls “cosmic war” exists, and blends both religion and war to the point where they become hard to distinguish. Religion can help to cause war, and war can also help to cause religion.

Juergensmeyer is also right to describe the idea that religion causes war as a “mantra.” It is a powerful mantra, as it has a lot of resonance. Mark Twain noted sarcastically that “Man is a Religious Animal…. He is the only animal that has the True Religion—several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn’t straight” (Twain 1972, 85). Even when not put as eloquently as this, the view of religion as a cause of war has long...

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