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Originally Posted by Ustwo
I think the problem with some people is they confuse religion with culture.
A religion is part of the culture, but it is just a part. If a culture is violent, expansive, and warlike, religion will be used to foster that. If a culture is peaceful or isolationist, the same religion can be used to foster that.
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I agree that this is a very important point about the distinction between religion and culture, but I have to disagree with the supposition that some cultures are violent, expansive and warlike. Cultures aren't any of these things although their governments are. Cultures don't decide to go to war - governments do. Cultures don't persecute minorities - governments do. I certainly grant that individuals are complicit in the sins of the government, but blaming the entire German people (including the Austrians and Volga Germans in the USSR) for the sins of the Nazis is grossly unfair. It's the same story with the Inquisition - it was the Church hierarchy that did the persecution with the assistance of the monarch, not the people at large, although I am sure that there were individuals who were just as guilty as the Inquisitors.
Culture is a constant. It is a commonly held language, maybe a common religion (although not always), morals and customs. Cultures don't expand or contract on their own volition; they do so in pursuit of resources.