March/April 2004
Research and Training

Links between war and religion explored

Researchers in the Department of Peace Studies tackled the links between religion and war for a major BBC programme.

What the World Thinks of God was broadcast in February and brought together a host of international broadcasters and revealed the results of a poll of 10,000 people across the globe gauging the relevance of God in today's world.

The BBC commissioned the Department to write a "War Audit" to investigate the links between war and religion through the ages.

The War Audit was compiled by Dr Greg Austin (pictured right), Todd Kranock and Thom Oommen.

Greg is a principal research fellow in the Department. Todd and Thom were both students in last year's MA in Peace Studies, and both worked in the University's Centre for International Co-operation and Security (CICS) as research assistants as this report was being compiled.

Greg said: "The BBC asked us to see how many wars had been caused by religion. "After reviewing historical analyses by a diverse array of specialists, we concluded that there have been few genuinely religious wars in the last 100 years.

"The Israel/Arab wars from 1948 to now, often painted in the media and other places as wars over religion, or wars arising from religious differences, have in fact been wars of nationalism, liberation of territory or self-defence."

The report also concluded that the Islamic fundamentalist terror war being led by Osama bin Laden "is more about political order in the Arab countries, and the presence of US forces in Muslim countries, than it is about religious conversion of foreigners or expansion of territory in the name of God."

To read BBC World Affairs Correspondent Mike Wooldridge's report on the audit, or to download a copy in full, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/wtwtgod/3513709.stm (external site, will open in a new browser window)

16 April 2004

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