RE: Do you think that without religion the crusades would have never happened?
June 29, 2009 at 6:58 pm
The Crusades would have happened regardless. Pope Urban II simply used the promise of remission of sins if one fought for the Holy Land as a means of motivation; you have to understand, however, that when he said "remission" of sins, he wasn't suggesting people would go straight to Heaven for fighting in the Crusades; rather, they would spend less time in purgatory before going there (Pope Urban II's view, not mine.) You have to understand, though, that knights in 1095 were killing and plundering amongst one another and were anxious for any legitimate excuse to go to battle; the First Crusade provided them with that. Even if you take out the "God" part of the equation, the "gold and glory" aspect of the crusades is still there.
