Quote:I'm a direct descendant of a people that believed that random violence insured a glorious reception in Valhalla. I think Christianity was not such a bad thing in pacifying that aggression (although they did squabble with the Catholics over Pomerania for awhile) and it eventually brought the world to a more enlightened place.
Those "squabbles over Pomerania" killed hundreds of thousands of people, both directly on the battlefield, and from the extreme deprivation caused by hunger, taxation, or pillage. The Great Northern War was christians all around, and yet it didn't moderate them one iota. Quite the contrary, the Swedes thought their King had been blessed with invulnerability by god, propelling them to yet further heights of valour and conquest. (Not that the Russians were any better, probably much worse.)
Modern (and vastly less religious) Sweden, on the other hand, seems pretty peaceful. The most religious parts of the world, on the other hand, seem hell-bent on blowing themselves to smithereens. Even the Buddhists, normally among the better-behaved religionists, are killing each other over very trivial matters.
Enlightenment was a move away from religion, not a move towards it.
-Jester