Religion and religious beliefs incite war. This is seen when people try to force others to adopt their religion or religious beliefs, when a nation with a particular religious belief goes to war against another nation, and when communities with different religious beliefs develop intolerance and distrust of each other . First, most wars are created when fanatics try to force others to adopt their religion or religious beliefs. The desire to convince another human being to follow similar beliefs can be accompanied by a strong passion, so strong that if others were against their particular beliefs, extremists might resort to violence to achieve an end. An example was shown during the initial transmission of Islam, when the Prophet Muhammad actually declared a holy war against the desert kingdoms and cities or Arabia. The purpose of the holy war was to force Arab society to accept the new religion he founded. This type of religious conflict was also sufficiently demonstrated during the Thirty Years' War of the 17th century. Catholics and Protestants in Europe were locked in a long and devastating conflict that arose because warring religious and political leaders tried to force each other to accept their own version of what Christianity should be. Secondly, religion causes war when a nation with a particular religious belief goes to war against another nation, not to convert them to their religion but simply to eliminate them as non-believers and unfit to populate a particular geographic location. It is nothing more than the expression of prejudice against another group because it does not adhere to the same faith or religion. This was the nature of the violence that erupted among the Old Testament Jews, the Nat... middle of paper... does religion cause war? I need to write an argumentative essay on this topic. - Homework Help - eNotes.com. [online] Available at: http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/does-religion-cause-war-286754 [Accessed: March 25, 2014].Freeman, T. nd Does Religion Cause War? - Questions and answers. [online] Available at: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/474759/jewish/Does-Religion-Cause-War.htm [Accessed: 25 March 2014].Pirie, S. 2014 . [online] Available at: http://www.booksie.com/editorial_and_opinion/essay/stuart_pirie/does-religion-cause-war/nohead/pdf/ver/8 [Accessed: 25 March 2014].War , D. nd Does religion cause war Gulnura0112. [online] Available at: http://www.studymode.com/essays/Does-Religion-Cause-War-1133786.html [Accessed: 25 March 2014].Wikipedia. 2012. Religious War. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_war [Accessed: 25 March 2014].