“Religion has caused most of the wars in history. The world would be better off without it.”

Check the Data:
In their Encyclopedia of Wars (2004), historians Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod catalog 1,763 wars and classify 123 of them—about 7%—as primarily religious. Most wars have been driven by land, power, wealth, ethnicity, and ideology.

The Lesson of the 20th Century:
Regimes that made atheism official—the Soviet Union under Stalin, Mao's China, Pol Pot's Cambodia—killed tens of millions of people. That doesn't mean atheists are violent; it shows that removing religion doesn't remove violence. The problem is the human heart: "Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?" (James 4:1).

Abuse Doesn't Disprove Use:
Medicine can be misused and politics abused, yet we don't abolish them. Judge a faith by its Founder and His teaching. Jesus told Peter to put away his sword (Matthew 26:52), said "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36), and commanded, "Love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44). Those who kill in His name are disobeying Him.

What Following Jesus Has Built:
Christians founded hospitals, orphanages, universities, and relief agencies around the world, and Christian conviction drove movements like the abolition of the slave trade. Where Christians have done evil, they acted against Christ, not in obedience to Him.