Religion touches nearly every corner of the globe. According to InfoANS’ World Religious Distribution (2025), Christianity makes up about 28.8% of the global population (~2.6 billion people), Islam follows closely at 25.6%, Hinduism at 14.9%, and Buddhism around 7%, while roughly 16% of people worldwide are unaffiliated. With billions of followers, religion shapes art, culture, and community in ways few other forces can.
But it hasn’t always been a force for good. An analysis by Bar-Ilan University’s Jonathan Fox found that “outright violence” by religious groups has surged by over 50% since 1990. Wars, oppression, and persecution—often justified in the name of faith—have left deep scars on humanity.
So why does something meant to unite people so often end up dividing them? How can movements grounded in peace become engines of oppression? I’m not here to bash anyone’s personal beliefs—I just think it’s worth taking a hard look at the facts.
Mass Deaths Caused by Religious Wars
Have you ever sat down to think about just how deadly a “holy war” can be? Pretty deadly, as it turns out. Take the Thirty Years’ War, fought between Catholic and Protestant states from 1618 to 1648. Estimates suggest 4 to 11.5 million people died, with entire cities left in ruins and families wiped out.
Then there were the Crusades, spanning the 11th to 13th centuries, in which Christian-led campaigns to “reclaim” the Holy Land resulted in 3 to 6 million deaths across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. It’s enough to make you ask: can “divine purpose” really justify this level of destruction?
History scholar Mark Juergensmeyer sums it up: “Religion is inherently prone to violence.”
Genocides and Ethnic Cleansing Justified by Religion
Religion hasn’t just sparked wars; it has been used to justify outright genocide. Centuries of anti-Jewish persecution fueled by Christian doctrine eventually culminated in the Holocaust, one of the darkest events in modern history. And in the 19th century, the Circassian Genocide saw nearly 90% of the Muslim population displaced or killed by Christian Russian forces.
Entire cultures were uprooted, communities erased—all under the banner of divine authority.
Systematic Religious Discrimination
Fast-forward to today, and religious discrimination is still very much a thing. Studies show that government-based discrimination occurs in 162 countries, and social harassment has risen by more than 50% between 1990 and 2014. Jews, Muslims, and other minorities remain the most frequent targets.
It’s wild to think that while religion preaches unity and love, in practice it often fuels division and harm.
Religious-Inspired Terrorism
Religiously motivated terrorism isn’t confined to the history books either. In 2012, around 20% of countries experienced attacks driven by religion, almost double the rate in 2007 (9%). This shows that faith, in the wrong hands, can still become a weapon.
Peaceful teachings often get twisted into justification for violence, and the consequences are all too real.
Suppression of Science and Progress
Religion has also been a major roadblock to science and progress at times. Faith has sometimes delayed life-saving innovations. For example, Galileo Galilei’s landmark scientific support for heliocentrism led to his 1633 trial and house arrest by the Catholic Church, which declared his work heretical and forced him to recant.
Nobel-winning physicist Steven Weinberg notes, “It takes religion to make good people do evil.” Contraception, medical research, and public health advances all faced resistance because of religious opposition, leading to unnecessary suffering and deaths.
Oppression of Women and LGBTQ+ People
Religiously justified oppression hasn’t spared anyone, but women and LGBTQ+ individuals have often borne the brunt. Forced marriages, gender-based violence, and social rejection have harmed millions worldwide. Many LGBTQ+ people have been denied the chance to live fulfilling lives because of restrictive religious norms.
Human rights organizations note that at least 64 countries criminalize homosexuality, according to the Human Dignity Trust—many of which cite religious justification. And in several nations, public support for anti-LBGTQ+ laws is strongly linked to religious beliefs and clerical influence.
Even in 2025, some communities still feel the weight of these ancient rules. It’s hard to reconcile faith with freedom when basic human rights are on the line.
Violence and Atrocities Committed by Religious Institutions
Sometimes, the institutions themselves have caused immense suffering. The Catholic Church, over centuries, engaged in wars, massacres, and campaigns of destruction that affected entire civilizations. The Spanish Inquisition, established in 1478 under the Catholic monarchy, is a prime example, with thousands tortured and executed for being labeled heretics, Jews, or Muslims.
It’s a stark reminder that organized religion can wield enormous power—power that hasn’t always been used kindly.
Medicine Denied Due to Religious Belief
Faith over medical care can have deadly consequences. An Asser and Swan 1998 study in the U.S. recorded at least 172 child deaths between 1975 and 1995 due to parents refusing treatment and relying solely on prayer. It’s one thing to pray for someone’s health, but it’s another to deny science and let preventable deaths occur.
The study found that 80% of the children would have had a greater than 90% chance of survival if they had received timely medical care. Sadly, this happens more often than many realize.
Forced Religious Conversions and Cultural Erasure
Religion has often demanded total submission—not just in belief, but in culture and identity. Entire communities were forced to abandon their traditions or face violence. Christians forcing conversions on Jews, Muslims suppressing Hindus, and other examples show how religion sometimes erases entire cultures.
In South Asia, religiously motivated violence (such as during the Partition of India) saw tens of thousands of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs killed or displaced, with millions uprooted, entire towns depopulated, and a profound loss of heritage. The impact has left scars in cultural memory that persist to this day.
Justification of Slavery and Colonialism
Finally, religion played a central role in slavery and colonialism. The Atlantic Slave Trade and European colonial conquests were often justified through religious reasoning. Millions of lives were lost, societies disrupted, and the legacies of inequity continue.
Estimates of deaths during the transatlantic slave trade range widely—from 6 million to as many as 150 million lives lost—though the United Nations places the official figure at around 17 million.
Religion didn’t merely sanction these atrocities—it actively enabled and rationalized them.
Key Takeaways
- Religion remains one of humanity’s most powerful forces—shaping art, ethics, and culture—but history shows it’s also been responsible for some of our darkest moments.
- Religious wars and genocides like the Crusades, the Thirty Years’ War, and the Holocaust remind us how easily faith can be twisted into a weapon.
- Institutional power and dogma often fueled oppression—from the Inquisition’s torture chambers to the forced conversions that erased entire cultures.
- Modern-day discrimination and terrorism prove that religion-driven violence isn’t ancient history—it’s still happening, just under new names.
- Science, medicine, and social progress have all faced resistance from religious authority at some point, delaying breakthroughs and costing lives.
- Women and LGBTQ+ communities continue to face faith-based marginalization in many regions, showing how slow real reform can be.
- Even today, about 85% of the world’s population identifies with a religion, yet intolerance, inequality, and exclusion remain rampant.
Religion itself isn’t the enemy—it’s how people use it. When faith is wielded with compassion, it can heal. When it’s used as a shield for hate, it destroys. Knowing that difference is what truly moves humanity forward.
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information. It is not intended to be professional advice.
Disclosure: This article was developed with the assistance of AI and was subsequently reviewed, revised, and approved by our editorial team.
20 odd American traditions that confuse the rest of the world
20 Odd American Traditions That Confuse the Rest of the World
It’s no surprise that cultures worldwide have their own unique customs and traditions, but some of America’s most beloved habits can seem downright strange to outsiders.
Many American traditions may seem odd or even bizarre to people from other countries. Here are twenty of the strangest American traditions that confuse the rest of the world.
20 of the worst American tourist attractions, ranked in order
20 of the Worst American Tourist Attractions, Ranked in Order
If you’ve found yourself here, it’s likely because you’re on a noble quest for the worst of the worst—the crème de la crème of the most underwhelming and downright disappointing tourist traps America offers. Maybe you’re looking to avoid common pitfalls, or perhaps just a connoisseur of the hilariously bad.
Whatever the reason, here is a list that’s sure to entertain, if not educate. Hold onto the hats and explore the ranking, in sequential order, of the 20 worst American tourist attractions.
