In 1093 A.D. the ruler of the Byzantine empire, Alexius Commenus, wrote a letter to the Count of Flanders telling him of atrocities committed by the Turks to the Christians. The count then gave this message to pope Urban II. The pope, seeing this as an easy way to solve some of his problems, used this as an easy way to solve some of his problems, used this as an excuse to "reclaim the holy lands" from the Turks. Shortly there after (1096) the first crusades began. Given this summary of the war, one could easily grasp how religious leaders could manipulate their followers into a war that actually had nothing to do with their God. You don’t conquer a countries, force a religion on a people, an...

In 1093 A.D. the ruler of the Byzantine empire, Alexius Commenus, wrote a letter to the Count of Flanders telling him of atrocities committed by the Turks to the Christians. The count then gave this message to pope Urban II. The pope, seeing this as an easy way to solve some of his problems, used this as an easy way to solve some of his problems, used this as an excuse to "reclaim the holy lands" from the Turks. Shortly there after (1096) the first crusades began. Given this summary of the war, one could easily grasp how religious leaders could manipulate their followers into a war that actually had nothing to do with their God. You don’t conquer a countries, force a religion on a people, and lead thousands to their deaths Solly because the rumor of atrocities and a hunger for expansion. More so, it is immoral to use a belief as powerful as the belief people have in God to begin a war and label it as one to reclaim holy lands. The crusades are just one of many occasions in which a religious belief was skewed to lead people into a war.