Throughout history religion has been used as an excuse, or driving force, for some of the worst atrocities imaginable. From pre-history to modern history, religion is, for many people, just an excuse to kill other people. This list highlights eight of the worst atrocities (but not necessarily the top 8).
Human sacrifices were still occurring in Buddhist Burma in the 1850s. When the capital was moved to Mandalay, 56 “spotless” men were buried beneath the new city walls to sanctify and protect the city. When two of the burial spots were later found empty, royal astrologers decreed that 500 men, women, boys, and girls must be killed and buried at once, or the capital must be abandoned. About 100 were actually buried before British governors stopped the ceremonies.
Members of lndia’s Thuggee sect strangled people as sacrifices to appease the bloodthirsty goddess Kali, a practice beginning in the 1500s. The number of victims has been estimated to be as high as 2 million. Thugs were claiming about 20,000 lives a year in the 1800s until British rulers stamped them out. At a trial in 1840, one Thug was accused of killing 931 people. Today, some Hindu priests still sacrifice goats to Kali.
6 Mountain Meadows Massacre
The Mountain Meadows massacre was a mass killing of the Fancher-Baker wagon train at Mountain Meadows in Utah Territory on September 11, 1857, by a group of Mormons and Paiute Indians. The Arkansas emigrants were traveling to California shortly before Utah War started. Mormons throughout the Utah Territory had been mustered to fight the invading United States Army, which they believed was intended to destroy them as a people. Initially intending to orchestrate an Indian massacre, two men with leadership roles in local military, church and government organizations, Isaac C. Haight and John D. Lee, conspired for Lee to lead militiamen disguised as Native Americans along with a contingent of Paiute tribesmen in an attack.
The emigrants fought back and a siege ensued. Intending to leave no witnesses of Mormon complicity in the siege and avoid reprisals complicating the Utah War, militiamen induced the emigrants to surrender and give up their weapons. After escorting the emigrants out of their fortification, the militiamen and their tribesmen auxiliaries executed approximately 120 men, women and children.
The Medieval Inquisition is a series of Inquisitions (Roman Catholic Church bodies charged with suppressing heresy) from around 1184, including the Episcopal Inquisition (1184-1230s) and later the Papal Inquisition (1230s). It was in response to large popular movements throughout Europe considered apostate or heretical to Christianity, in particular Catharism and Waldensians in southern France and northern Italy. These were the first inquisition movements of many that would follow.
Torture was used after 1252. On May 15, Pope Innocent IV issued a papal bull entitled Ad exstirpanda, which authorized the use of torture by inquisitors. The Inquisitors were forbidden to use methods that resulted in bloodshed, mutilation or death. One of the more common forms of medieval inquisition torture was known as strappado. The hands were bound behind the back with a rope, and the accused was suspended this way, dislocating the joints painfully in both arms. Weights could be added to the legs dislocating those joints as well.
The organization is still active today under the name of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Prior to becoming Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Ratzinger was the head of the congregation.
When Puritans settled in Massachusetts in the 1600s, they created a religious police state where doctrinal deviation could lead to flogging, pillorying, hanging, cutting off ears, or boring through the tongue with a hot iron. Preaching Quaker beliefs was a capital offense. Four stubborn Quakers defied this law and were hanged. In the 1690s fear of witches seized the colony. Twenty alleged witches were killed and 150 others imprisoned.
3 Roman Persecution of Christians
Christians were first, and horribly, targeted for persecution as a group by the emperor Nero in 64 AD. A colossal fire broke out at Rome, and destroyed much of the city. Rumors abounded that Nero himself was responsible. To divert attention from the rumors, Nero ordered that Christians should be rounded up and killed. Some were torn apart by dogs, others burnt alive as human torches. Over the next hundred years or so, Christians were sporadically persecuted. Then in the mid-third century, emperors initiated even more intensive persecutions. This, “The Great Persecution”, is considered the largest. Beginning with a series of four edicts banning Christian practices and ordering the imprisonment of Christian clergy, the persecution intensified until all Christians in the empire were commanded to sacrifice to the gods or face immediate execution. This persecution was to be the last, as Constantine I soon came into power and in 313 legalized Christianity.
The Aztecs began their elaborate theocracy in the 1300s and brought human sacrifice to a golden era. About 20,000 people were killed yearly to appease gods — especially the sun god, who needed daily “nourishment” of blood. Hearts of sacrifice victims were cut out, and some bodies were eaten ceremoniously. Other victims were drowned, beheaded, burned or dropped from heights. In a rite to the rain god, shrieking children were killed at several sites so that their tears might induce rain. In a rite to the maize goddess, a virgin danced for 24 hours, then was killed and skinned; her skin was worn by a priest in further dancing. One account says that at King Ahuitzotl’s coronation, 80,000 prisoners were butchered to please the gods.
Islamic jihads (holy wars), mandated by the Koran, killed millions over 12 centuries. In early years, Muslim armies spread the faith rapidly: east to India and west to Morocco. Then splintering sects branded other Muslims as infidels and declared jihads against them. The Kharijis battled Sunni rulers. The Azariqis decreed death to all “sinners” and their families. In 1804 a Sudanese holy man, Usman dan Fodio, waged a bloody jihad that broke the religious sway of the Sultan of Gobir. In the 1850s another Sudanese mystic, ‘Umar al-Hajj, led a barbaric jihad to convert pagan African tribes.
This article is licensed under the GFDL because it contains quotations from the Wikipedia articles: Mountain Meadow Massacrew, and Medieval Inquisition. Other sources: Religion’s Death Toll, by James A. Haught [1990]
译文:
宗教名下八宗暴行
宗教是历史上一些最恶劣的暴行的借口或驱动力。从史前时期到近代，对于许多人来说宗教只是杀害他人的托辞。以下列出八宗臭名昭著的暴行（但不一定排在首八位）。
8
缅甸佛教徒
在19世纪50年代，活人献祭仍在缅甸上演。当其迁都至曼德勒时，56个“纯洁”的人被活埋在新都的城墙之下以供奉和保护该城。之后人们发现有两处埋葬点空了，御用占星师就下法令道要立刻宰杀并埋葬500个成年男女和童男童女，否则就一定要遗弃首都。英国地方官员制止此类仪式之前大约有100人已经被埋。
7
暗杀党
从16世纪起，印度暗杀党的成员把人扼死作为祭祀，以此满足嗜血的卡利女王。据统计受害人数已高达两百万。19世纪教徒每年杀害约两万人，直到英国统治者制止。1840年的审判中，其一教徒被指控杀害931人。而在今天，一些印度僧人仍杀羊祭祀卡利。
6
麦多斯山脉大屠杀
麦多斯山脉大屠杀发生在在1857年9月11日，摩门教徒和派尤特人在准犹他州里对芬彻贝克马车队进行了大规模屠杀。犹他战争刚打响，这队阿肯色移民正前往加州。当时准犹他州中的摩门教徒聚集起来与美国侵略军对抗，因为他们相信美国军要灭绝他们整个民族。而两名当地军队、教堂与政府组织的领导人，即艾萨克（Isaac C. Haight）和李约翰（John D. Lee），意图发起一场印第安人大屠杀。他们合谋让李约翰带领民兵伪装成美国土著居民和派尤特人的分遣队来发起进攻。
阿肯色移民极力反抗继而被围。美国民兵为了不让摩门教教徒同伙在围攻中留下活口，也为了防止报复行为使犹他战争复杂化，他们诱使移民弃械投降。把移民从防御工事带出之后，民兵及其派尤特援军处死了120个男女及幼童。
5
宗教裁判所
中世纪宗教裁判所指一系列1184年成立的裁判所（由罗马天主教掌管，用以压迫异教徒），包括主教裁判所（1184-1230）与随后的教皇裁判所（13世纪30年代）。其成立是为了回应全欧洲大规模的民间叛教和异教运动，尤其是法国南部和意大利北部的卡塔尔教和瓦尔多教运动，它们是多个审判运动的先例。
1252年后裁判所实施严刑拷打。5月15日，教宗英诺森四世发出名为《特殊消灭》的教皇训喻，授予审判人使用严刑的权利。在此之前审判人禁止使用会导致流血、受伤或死亡的手段。而一种广为人知的中世纪审查酷刑就是吊刑。就是用绳把双手绑在背后，以此方式把受刑者悬吊起来，致使双臂的关节脱臼以产生剧痛。也有在脚处加重来使关节脱臼。
此组织在今天仍活跃于教廷信理部的名下。拉辛格枢机主教在成为教宗本笃十六世前，也是教廷信理部的部长。
4
巫师追捕
当清教徒在17世纪在马萨诸塞州定居之时，他们创立了一个宗教管理州，州中背离教义的人将受鞭打、上颈手枷、绞刑、割耳、或被用铁烫穿舌头。宣扬贵格会信仰是死罪，4名固执的贵格会教友因违反了此法律被绞死。17世纪90年代人们陷入对巫师的恐惧中。20个自称为巫师的人被处死，还有其它150人被监禁。
3
罗马基督徒迫害
公元64年，基督徒首次被皇帝尼禄定为残酷迫害的目标群体。罗马当时发生了一场大火，大半城市被毁。谣传尼禄本身负有责任。为了转移公众对谣传的注意，尼禄命令把基督徒包围并处死。部分基督徒被狗分尸，其它的像活火把一样被活活烧死。接下来一百多年里基督徒遭到了零星的迫害。然后在3世纪中叶，君主发起了更残酷的迫害。这是最大规模的“大迫害”。从制定了四条关于禁绝基督教活动和监禁基督教牧师的一系列法令开始，此次迫害一直升级，直到罗马帝国内所有基督徒受命要献身于上帝，否则立刻面临迫害。这也是当时最终一次迫害，因为君士坦丁一世不久就掌权就任并在313年将基督教合法化。
2
阿芝台克人祭
阿芝台克于14世纪开启了他们苛刻的神权政治，并且把人祭推向顶峰。每年约有20000人被处死来满足上帝——尤其是需要每天鲜血“养分”的太阳神。祭祀的受害者心脏被掏出，部分尸体将在仪式上被吃，其它受害人或淹死，或砍头，或从高空扔下。祭祀雨神的仪式上要在好几处地方杀死尖叫着的孩子，以让他们的眼泪引来雨水。玉米神的神祭上，要有一个处女跳一整天舞，然后把她处死并剥皮；她的皮将在接下来的舞蹈当中披在一个祭师的身上。据一报道，阿维佐特王的加冕礼上就有80000人被屠宰来取悦众神。
1
伊斯兰护教战争
根据可兰经的规定，伊斯兰护教战争(圣战)在12个世纪里杀害了几百万人。在早期，穆斯林军迅速把把此信念传递到了东至印度，西至摩洛哥的地区。接着几个分支都指其它穆斯林为异端，并宣布对他们发起圣战。所以哈里哲派与逊尼派领导人打起了战争，阿扎利克人对所有“罪人”与其家庭宣布了死刑。1804年，苏丹一个圣人——奥斯曼•丹•弗迪奥,发起了一场血腥的圣战并破坏了苏丹戈比尔的统治。而在19世纪50年代，另一个苏丹神秘家欧默尔·哈吉也发动了野蛮的战争来使非洲部落的异教徒皈依。
此文获GFDL许可，因其包括维基百科文章的引文：《麦多斯山脉大屠杀》（Mountain Meadow Massacrew），和《中世纪宗教迫害》（Medieval Inquisition）。其它信息来源：《宗教死亡人数》，詹姆斯·A·霍特[1990]