Is religion to blame for violence? | UpFront

In a special UpFront on religion, recorded before the Nice attack, we speak to bestselling author Karen Armstrong, who argues that politics, not religion is the root of the world's worst conflicts.
In the Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan debunks the myth that religion is in decline. And in the Arena, top atheists Lawrence Krauss and Greg Epstein debate on whether offending the faithful is the right way forward.
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[@defundthepoliticians.1465]

No. Greed is to blame.

[@zimmer879]

People are blowing themselves up in order to get rich?

[@ceejay9336]

"Is religion responsible for the violence and intolerance of the world?" Some of it.

[@syedmurtazaahmedniazi7783]

Who is responsible is human beings.. They can take the guise of nationalism, religion or simple dislike etc but that does not make each of those things violent and intolerant because in our imagination they can not be violent and intolerant so there is a choice and the chooser of eirher; is always the user. It's like saying panadol is bad because I took too many of them.

[@nech1]

@@syedmurtazaahmedniazi7783 Religion is just one more guise to justify violence. If it wasn't for religious justification, another justification would have been used.

[@syedmurtazaahmedniazi7783]

@@nech1 After a crime has been commited, religion nationalism or whatever can be used to justify it. Does that mean the crime was committed because of these things? Evil human beings dont need any reason to commit the crime but other evil human beings do use good things to cover them.

[@nech1]

@@syedmurtazaahmedniazi7783 That's literally what I said.

[@syedmurtazaahmedniazi7783]

Yes and by reinforcing your perspective i have posed a counter question.

[@MarufSajjad]

Alhamdulillah for being a Muslim.

[@TheRealNationalist]

ALLAH HU AKBAR!

[@Zagros_1948]

Maruf Sajjad to hate others?

[@k-doggy1762]

Very interesting and civilised debate.

[@mastertheillusion]

How does one claim to make a study of the world and then turn around and head back to any religion? Sheer stupidity?

[@anikkhan4887]

this show is so good! why only 25 mins!

[@EuDouArteHipHopArtCulture21]

i love UpFront . Thank you .

[@farhansalim90]

The world needs more Gregs

[@xotube2206]

Yeah, atheist guy was good. God bless those smart, learned atheists :)

[@joeyb3318]

Ahhahahaha lol

[@riyadharun3057]

Two of the best points I've heard on Atheism were stated by Atheists. Point one is that science isn't a theology, it's a methodology; trying to base principles on a concept that science is the only truth is inherently flawed as science itself defines itself as collection of theories, not absolute certainty. Stephen Hawkings' theories challenge Einstein's, the two can't coexist but neither are a certainty. Leading into the second point from the first, the kind of Atheists Mehdi mentions are more concerned with God than any religion, as that brand of Atheism's entirety is founded as a rebuttal to theology. Theologians ponder or study the concept of God, many spiritual people don't actually define God to any doctrine, but these kinds of Atheists center the entirety of their beliefs on defying the existence of God. The most functional kinds of Atheists are those that are completely unconcerned with Theology of any kind, they don't need to denounce religion for their principles to be valid, they just believe in whatever and aren't making it a point to bring down Theology.

[@withsilentwings]

Calls Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris are belligerent? Some of the most thoughtful and mindful people I've ever had the pleasure of listening to...

[@riyadharun3057]

They are belligerent, the term is very accurate regarding what he's referring to. Sam Harris is especially aggressive when it comes to religion. He didn't call him stupid, he said belligerent, which means that Sam Harris makes it a point to degrade and undermine the concept of Theology as childish and ridiculous. Not sure what else you'd consider calling it when someone frequently makes it a point to place himself squarely into an aggressive opposing position to something. I don't agree with Republicans, but that doesn't mean I think their party should be dismantled and paraded through the streets in humiliation. Someone can be incredibly intelligent, which Richard Dawkins certainly is, I actually enjoy listening to a lot of his points as a practicing Muslim, but I wouldn't exactly describe him respectful to Theology. I respect Atheism and the right for people to hold those beliefs, but I don't agree with it in any sense.

[@katiestockton81]

"Is religion to blame for violence?" I don't think we can honestly say it is to blame for ALL violence. Racism is a big cause; look at what's going on in the US right now. So is sexism. So is classism. Nationalism has caused it too.

[@MoonLight-bz3yd]

GOD BLESS THIS GUY.💖😙

[@HypeKillahPwnd]

Religion is often the exuse or scapegoat but sertanly not the single reason. Nasjonalism, Imperialism and recources on the other hand..

[@jamesdunn7376]

Yep - Your religion Mehedi.. your religion...

[@nameless592]

you feel better getting that out of your system.

[@EuDouArteHipHopArtCulture21]

Politics .

[@ibrahimallamin8867]

I won't be a muslim for a sec if I think my religion promotes violence.

[@farhansalim90]

I believe your religion had nothing to do with WWI, WWII and Holocaust. Except that it was Christians fighting the war. That doesn't make Christianity a violent religion. Same way when few lunatics use Islam to promote their personal agenda through violence, please don't say Islam promotes violence. It's not the time to play blame game James. Stay with us. If Christians, Muslim and every other human being stick together, We can destroy this cancer called "JIHAD" that has plagued the religion of Islam. Peace brother :)

[@greeny202ab]

Farhan Salim WTF are you talking about?!?!?!?!? WW1 and WW2 were exactly what it says on the tin - WORLD WARS!!!! There were people of all religions fighting those wars. Especially in the first world war as it saw the demise of the muslim caliphate with the end of the Ottaman empire. People from the muslim world are simply not educated enough to discuss this topic.

[@marilynverick2544]

As the great Christopher Hitchens said, “religion poisons everything “. He’d make mincemeat out of Karen Armstrong.

[@RickyRyan]

Religion and politics are often the SAME. In many religions, they are a political system, especially the Abrahamic ones, their books have clear rules on how the world should be and encourages it's followers to do everything in their power to impose this on others, often with violence.

[@charliechaplin2122]

I have no Religion but my religion is love.

[@joeszabo7618]

Yes one religion is .

[@integrity5140]

that's should even be a question.

[@willwluke4634]

I am a Penecostal Christian, and I will die a Penecostal Christian. I am 26 years old. Eiffel hardly believe that these two atheist guys are possessed by a demon. And there’s nothing in society that will prove me right or wrong but it’s my beliefs that have me stern in thought.

[@coecovideo]

YES

[@shahzebkhan1117]

It is said that.... If u pressurize smthin' more...... It'll go burst.... U know what I mean....

[@nothingnessofnowhere3234]

LOL 8:36 soundtrack is from Medieval II: Total War. gg wp.

[@ahmaddahbour3091]

Right blame religon the best answer not power, greed, or human nature

[@thatbird2]

Easier to do this than to look into our own failings. Yes?

[@Shakeel.Irshad]

They started debating with each other bypassing the host and then Mehdi had to interrupt him with a question

[@JMG_86]

My favorite part was when Mehdi manned up and called Lawrence and Greg "cattle" to their faces.

[@pinkpanther331]

Yes

[@diannaprince7039]

Religion is not the blame for violence in the world rather the application of religion

[@LesPaul2006]

Is religion to blame for violence? Are flying horses real? Mahdi?

[@kelumo7981]

he believes in flying horse and that muhamed split the moon,what a disgrace thing to do for an educated man

[@lgriot]

+

[@sunset2.00]

LesPaul2006 what flying horses

[@andrusbgx]

Mehdi gets so triggered when people bash Islam lol

[@wolfofthetwincities5704]

Krauss is a very reasonable individual. Criticize religion but not promote bigotry that's what I like

[@lns3858]

All religions can cause conflicts. but one particularly stands out

[@ajinkyagadgil2747]

shizle Hizle Communist are not atheist. They are terrorist with monopolistic mindset.

[@homerjsimpson6496]

Communism enforces atheism

[@selinaali9367]

Atheist which religion caused conflict the most before the particular one?

[@umidazimi3706]

Christianity?

[@homerjsimpson6496]

Selina Ali No religion has atheism caused the most killed the most Mao Ze Dong,Stalin,Hitler

[@hajhirmoshfegh9162]

Best Stupid statement: "...As the Pew study noted religiously unaffiliated people tend to be older and have fewer kids, sorry but basically the religious folks tend to be the ones who go forth and procreate..." Sorry for whom buddy? The religiously unaffiliated or the whole planet? Because, last I checked there's a population growth problem, it doesn't help anyone that religious people procreate more, this is bad outcome for everyone involved. This is not something to write home about.

[@wiseass2149]

Look at the origins of most of these insurgencies. Boko Haram began in large part because of how Muslims have been neglected throughout the successive governments in the north eastern parts of Nigeria. ISIS had their roots in the insurgency in Iraq. Let's face it the Middle East at best has oil and a lot of the regressive socialism from the 20th century. Most of the youth in the Middle East have very few prospects for upward mobility. These factors and the destabilization of many governments is what are leading to groups like ISIS.

[@harshraj2575]

pretty much!

[@drstrangelove09]

Karen Armstrong... oh my...

[@linuxapt8173]

Debate? Anyone?

[@katiestockton81]

Further thought: is "religiously-motivated violence" actually a form of insecurity? If you look deeper into it, is that what you'll find?

[@Genuinelycuri0us]

Karen Armstrong is brilliant. I am not religious for the very reason the one is not over the other, the main religions ask for the same thing -- which is o be a good person and learn how to coexist. People go crazy about their religions and it has caused so much death

[@hfur7758]

All the rilgious wars were bescoped by G B.

[@LoneWolf-rj1px]

It's not religion that is the prime cause of violence. It's the monotheism to be blamed. Humans naturally worship different Gods but when people fight against each other on which God is legitimate, the violence starts and escalates. Best is Polytheism like Hinduism that has accepted all Gods across the world without any discrimination or fights and thus did not give any chance of violence and paved the way for religious tolerance.

[@searchpow]

Rajdeep Sardesai of UK.

[@River-xz4bb]

Personally i believe Faith is something that brings hope, unfortunately there are those who twist and bend "Faith" to make it a force for evil. I also believe, religious individuals around the world dont even know the truth of their own religion. The hate is'nt in the religion, it's in the Teachers.

[@AlexAtiq]

yes it is

[@Jalfred92]

“To say, for example, that there is some inherent bias in Islam that pushes peoples towards [violence], no more is that true in Islam as it is of secularism-” Some statements are so foolish that all you can do is shine a spotlight on them. Also does Mehdi not understand population growth and relative figures?

[@hindinetwork8722]

the lady in the video said people dont know about religion but they act like master.

[@hfur7758]

Please give your reflection on figure s.

[@hfur7758]

@@hindinetwork8722 So what's your problema 😆

[@boramawi]

I am sure the two men themselves are in great need for religion. A world without religion would be a bush without conscience

[@TigrisVoice]

The fact that you say that you are "sure" about something that nobody can tell. shows how weak you are in making a judgment. Of course you are "sure" of the existence of Allah.

[@josephroberts7445]

Yes 100%

[@briancomley8210]

People should not try and force others to believe what they believe, Which is the cause of a lot of the violence we are seeing theses days. No religion has been proven to be right, it's just the way that you have been taught growing up. Believers get upset when you say they are wrong, but they don't have any evidence to back up their belief, so they get mad at you.

[@moathdw910]

Yep all religions do.

[@imaginarilyinci393]

Magic is Mental disorder

[@rs3ish]

No

[@roxee57]

Criticising the truth claims religions make & commenting on the behaviour of some who claim to be acting in the name of their religion are two different things. The interviewer keeps conflating the two which leaves one to ask why?

[@mortef]

Both are exaclty what religion is in practice

[@anejoyadav1989]

yes one religion is... u know which

[@ccnac704]

Christianity?

[@renzotata7501]

no no, the one when you have to blow up in pieces to achieve paradise

[@tonystinkmetal]

oh... you mean christianity. they only blew up a few health clinics and synagogues... and the Edward R Murrow building in OKC, and all those children inside. but I'm sure the christians didn't mean it. christians are compassionate; as the hindus forcing non-hindus to convert across india or the buddhist mobs killing muslims across myanmar. so yes, thank you sister, for reminding us how awesome religion is.(*) * for the morons who don't get irony (I'm talking to you,f-book), I'm being ironic. all religions are terrible pro-religious zealots only ensure blessings for the destruction and murder.

[@tonystinkmetal]

sir, I did not speak only of hindus. ALL religions are equal-- THEY ARE ALL BAD. you write at a the level of a six-year-old child. your opinion of me is irrelevant.

[@KhalidHussain-zv1bb]

so...Christianity?

[@corvusglaive5769]

The problem is not the religions themselves but the texts that they follow. I mean these texts were written over a thousand years ago. It is like trying to write a constitution that will be relevant in the year 3000. It is an uphill task that is almost impossible. No one knows how the society will be at that time, or if it will even be present. It is time for the world religions to start addressing the script from which they are reading. Otherwise, it only going to get worse.

[@dinikal6480]

yes...n that u r following it....

[@willwluke4634]

I am just a messenger

[@Zagros_1948]

Since 1400 years it started

[@wasimshaikh1665]

politics is a hydra, religion is one of its head.

[@uponsunnah6986]

You need to bring Hamza Tzortzis on the show Mehdi.

[@stopscammingman]

The Ashley Madison guy!

[@ChannelMath]

a fair debate would be between a theist and an anti-theist, hosted by an agnostic atheist

[@katiestockton81]

Hmmm.....1979 revolution, anyone? Anyone?

[@52kthbsr]

WHAT IS IN YOUR HEARTS IS TO BLAME FOR VIOLENCE.

[@wonderlust5043]

great woman.

[@MrChaosi]

oh lock its the flying horse guys mehdi

[@denisfilming]

Politics is mostly to blame, but religion is used as its primary (very effective) weapon where soldiers/followers are conned into believing they are fighting purely for righteous reasons.

[@flashpeter625]

One important point wasn't mentioned. The principle of religion is replacing reality with dogma, and preventing critique of it. If you do this in a sufficiently large population, there will always be individuals and small groups who will be directed to hatred and violence by followijng this mental pattern. It is a direct consequence of how religion exists and persists in the society. So, if you are a "moderate" who does not cause violence and suffering. Yes, you are not responsible for somebody who is violent, but you are fully responsible for cultivating the environment in which dogmatic fundamentalism is possible and inevitable. That is something all reliigous people have to acknowledge, and something especially Muslims always completely deny. That's one of the reasons why Islam is and will be criticised first.

[@roxee57]

Mehdi used to preach horrible things in the name of his religion. He claims to have calmed down now while remaining a Muslim. Maybe he should reflect on why he used to be the way he was.

[@Trazynn]

Of course not Mehdi. Of course not.

[@tedbreuer6927]

Religion is not An Art! It just reeks.

[@Bamsefar87]

..And here is another interesting observation and an argument for why Lawrence Krauss totally won that debate. When he argued why Islam is a bigger threat than other religions, in defense of Dawkins' and Harris' statements, Greg Epstein didn't deny the fact that Muslim fundamentalist often seem to have a more violent interpretation of their religion than others, but rather tried to explain why this is the case by arguing that colonialism caused this situation. The fact that greed is the fundamental cause of suffering in the world is no secret, but that doesn't make religious fundamentalism any less of a problem, or any of the dogmas that comes with the conventional kind any less of a problem either. Religion is not evil, religion is a tool that can be used for evil.

[@ptadisbander7959]

The true balanced interpretation.

[@Funaru]

Colonialism may explain Islamism in part, but it doesn't excuse it. Africa and India were also colonized but these folks are mostly peaceful. The Tibetans are similarly oppressed as the Palestinians but they don't do terrorist acts against the Chinese. Religious ideology makes all the difference.

[@ptadisbander7959]

Funaru Another interesting point.

[@nelsonvecchione2621]

If you have any doubts about the value and importance of religion in your life ...pick up a Bible and turn to Deuteronomy 23:13....or you can google it............NOW you understand its value...and now you may use its pages to complete the task it instructs you to perform.........

[@Host4dummies]

Religion in its own wording is divine deliverance from a higher force also defined as doctrine by many. A human being is computational to a level and stuff like religion, culture, beliefs, traditions etc go some way towards determining the view of a human being. So in the first deliverance the higher force bestows onto the "beast/creature" the divine lessons of religion which is also enforced by historical records with disagreements of what was the right message. When we look back, it appears the "beasts/creatures" modified the message to suit themselves depending on where on the planet it was. So in the end - if we use the analogy of god source being natural animalistic thinking of the mind and morality being an app. What we are seeing is the beast after years of separation coming together and not comprehending the results. With that I mean a "beast/creature" from one part of the world has facebook(e,g christianity), another has twitter( eg islam) ....etc ,, all arguing that this is the main communication app. In the meantime, the force satisfied at getting some results from the "beast/creature" has now moved on to delivering the next stage of divinity via things like education, science, technology. What we are seeing however is some of the the "beasts/creatures" are still stuck at the religious level and still interpret religion word for word although time has moved on, it clearly says religion is parables and there are other equations at play now. In future the minds will be able to comprehend things like tolerance and consciousness to finally be able to run those apps/special gifts/religions/traditions without trying to uninstall, kill or convert other "beasts/creatures" running another app.

[@zakariakamal]

Humans fight in the name of color, language, leadership, power, land and so forth - the religion had to control - changing the nature of human completely was not desirable; however, God could do it but, we would not remain humans.

[@sunset2.00]

dont feed the troll extremists

[@RationalDummy]

I thought this debate was supposed to be about religious violence. Instead, the moderator used the air time to bash atheists, and consistently deflected any statement made by Lawrence regarding religion and violence. We saw a debate in which one side constantly had to defend himself in the face of accusations made against atheists, while the actual topic (or alleged topic), was totally ignored. Way to go Al-Jazeera. The title of this video/debate is pure click-bait.

[@bethlemmon]

whatever you adhere allegiance too, worship, believe and put faith in, is your god. So these aetheists do have a religion, humans can fix everything, knowledge and science is their god.

[@Cinnabun]

I adore how the humanist displayed his and everyone else's genuine fear of Islam by saying "Like asking an Orthodox rabbi to compete in a ham sandwich eating contest", rather than saying a mullah, Ayatollah, or Imam, good little side-step, good choice in words friend, you certainly did hop-skip that land mine.

[@lgriot]

+

[@katiestockton81]

I'm not sure Sam Harris is rhetorically belligerent. He's actually pretty mild. And cool.

[@rajeevpratap9224]

Relgion is good untill we talk about it and have the liberty of making sarcasm about it that helps in making reform in religion........but disrespecting or abussing religion should not be permitted...

[@MultiSexysam]

duh

[@MultiSexysam]

wahabism and neo-capitalism

[@alvingabriel2]

No stupidity is ?

[@EmperorsNewWardrobe]

Utterly shameless from Mehdi Hassan. Who calls themselves a ‘new atheist’ and do they all say religion is ‘evil’?

[@emmmanueeel]

Can she explain what does she means by secularism is to blame for lots of bad things. Stalin doesn't count, it was totalitarianism...

[@susheelgautam]

mehdi dont be defensive. it's not about you . it's about a fanatic religion and fanatics following its fanatic phrases.

[@artificialintelligence9685]

susheel gautam stop massacre in Kashmir

[@thatbird2]

There are fanatics within ALL religions. 'Nuff said.

[@rasheedshariff4092]

scientist are not eliminating God, but Eliminating models of God

[@TigrisVoice]

Ibrahim, well, your model of god is very wrong

[@willwluke4634]

In all seriousness, this whole debate is a distraction from what God‘s plan is for all of us. We just need to sit and listen, have patience and the willingness to effectively help others.

[@jawadjawad7220]

What a pity

[@abdifatahh9971]

Is not for religion blame for politics Somalia

[@majedalkhaldi3610]

Islam is the most peaceful religion in the world.

[@TigrisVoice]

majed, you fogot to sign...."ISIS"

[@ayecarumba4928]

There is no such thing as Islamophobia You can choose a religion it you can reject religion

[@syedsalmanabid9850]

As much as I want to watch Mehdi Hassan's shows, I hate his journalistic style where he simply has no regard for anyone's else opinions and tries to implement his own ideology even on his guests! I hope he grows out of it & becomes a mature human being & regard others opinions too.

[@AR-cx5yf]

because he's the best journalist

[@hfur7758]

@@AR-cx5yf Try to explain this to SS Abid of her Ignonamorous comments.

[@6games760]

money

[@evisuification]

remain within confines of text and worship you will be fine

[@arydant]

Mr. Krauss probably realizes too late how cheesy and smarmy this show is. He looks pretty embarrassed. It's really a sad waste of his time.

[@madeyzue]

just follow the religion faith and pray five times daily automaticaly we live in peace.insyaAllah !!

[@CB-dv8rf]

No. Pray 50 times daily.

[@hfur7758]

@@CB-dv8rf Or sit on A Candel and be enlightened.

[@bishalkumar-dd5ly]

dont ever connect ISL with kashmir conflict

[@luna39900]

I think religion in general is causing more harm than good

[@electoral-college1952]

Karen madimoiselle like of speak about what no exist

[@pacajalbert9018]

Môj otec mal len 4 rokov v druhé svetové vojne povedal že na zemi kostol ne existuje

[@swabrahgyagenda]

i would love for an atheist to explain death to me. How does science explain death?