Is religion the root of evil?
Humans have tried everything to explain evil: Blame religion. Remove religion. Change religion. Transform religion. The 20th century even ran the ultimate experiment - strip religion from society completely. The result? 100 million dead under Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot. Yet the evil persists. The violence continues. The questions remain. Today, we're discovering why every attempt to explain away evil - whether by pointing to religion or removing it entirely - has overlooked something fundamental about human nature itself.
Welcome back to Word for Word, I'm Austin Duncan, and today we're tackling one of the most explosive questions facing Christianity in the 21st century: Is religion the root of evil?
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. "Austin, didn't we just talk about evil and suffering last week?" Yes, we did. But today's different. Last week, we explored why God allows evil to exist. Today, we're addressing the accusation that God's followers are actually the ones causing most of it.
This isn't some theoretical debate happening in dusty seminary libraries. This is the #1 argument your coworker, your college professor, or your atheist uncle brings up at Thanksgiving dinner. "Look at the Crusades!" "What about the Inquisition!" "Religious people have killed more people than anything else in history!"
And here's what makes this question so important: they're not entirely wrong. Terrible things have been done in God's name. We can't just sweep that under the rug. But we also can't let a half-truth become the whole story.
So today, we're going to dig deep. We're going to look at the uncomfortable history, examine the data, explore what Scripture actually says about violence and faith, and discover something that might surprise you: the real root of evil isn't what most people think it is.
Let's dive in.
Understanding Evil's True Source
If religion isn't the root cause of evil, then what is?
To properly address the claim that "religion poisons everything"—as Christopher Hitchens famously put it in his book God Is Not Great—we need to dig down to the actual roots. Think of it like a tree. Everyone sees the trunk—the violence, the wars, the atrocities. But what's feeding that trunk? What are the roots underneath?
Let me show you four major root causes of evil that run much deeper than religion.
Root #1: The Fallen Human Heart
Here's the most uncomfortable truth you'll hear today: the biggest source of evil in your life is you. And the biggest source of evil in my life? It's me.
The Bible doesn't pull any punches about this. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?" That's not exactly feel-good, Instagram-quote material, is it?
Jesus Himself taught that evil doesn't come to us from outside—it comes from us, from within. In Mark 7, He lists it out: "From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit..." The list goes on.
G.K. Chesterton, the brilliant British writer, illustrated this perfectly. When a newspaper ran an essay contest asking "What's wrong with the world?", Chesterton allegedly sent in the shortest essay ever submitted:
"Dear Sir,
I am.
Sincerely yours,
G.K. Chesterton"
Now, that's probably apocryphal, but he did write something similar: "The answer to the question 'What is Wrong?' is, or should be, 'I am wrong.'"
The problem isn't that religion makes good people do bad things. The problem is that there are no good people.
That's not pessimism, that's realism. And ironically, that's one of Christianity's most verifiable teachings. You don't need a theology degree to confirm it. Just look at history. Or the news. Or your own life when nobody's watching.
Remove religion from the world tomorrow, and you still have people—with the same jealousies, the same rage, the same lust, the same selfish ambition that have always led to violence. As Chesterton warned: "Abolish religion if you like... But do not be surprised if a machinery that was never meant to do anything but secure external decency and order fails to secure internal honesty and peace."
Root #2: The Corruption of Power
Here's a quote you've probably heard: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
That's from Lord Acton, a 19th-century historian who understood something crucial: when you give flawed humans unchecked power, you get predictable results. And they're always bad.
Think about it. Throughout history, what's the common thread behind most atrocities? It's not theology—it's tyrants. People drunk on power who will twist anything—religion, nationalism, political ideology, science—to justify what they want to do anyway.
Medieval church officials who authorized torture during the Inquisition? They weren't following Christ's teachings. Jesus never said, "If someone disagrees with your doctrine, stretch them on the rack until they recant." They were indulging the age-old sins of domination and control.
Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot? They used Marxist ideology the same way. The common denominator wasn't religious faith or atheism—it was unchecked power in the hands of corrupt people.
Religion doesn't corrupt people with power. Power corrupts people who then corrupt religion.
Lord Acton also said we must judge leaders—political and religious—by the same moral standards. No one gets a pass on cruelty just because they wear a crown or a clerical collar.
Root #3: Ideological Extremism
Now we're getting to something critical. Ideas have consequences. When people wholeheartedly embrace an ideology—religious or secular—that dehumanizes others or believes the ends justify any means, you get catastrophe.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn survived the Soviet gulag, and he had something profound to say about communist ideology: "Hatred of God is the principal driving force...Militant atheism is not a side effect, but the central pivot."
The Soviet Union didn't just happen to be atheistic. The regime actively tried to eradicate religion and create a utopia. The result? 20 million dead. China under Mao? At least 65 million. Cambodia under Pol Pot? 2 million—a quarter of their population.
These weren't accidental byproducts. The ideology itself became a quasi-religion, demanding absolute loyalty and sacrificing millions for an alleged "greater good."
Religious ideologies can be twisted the same way. When any belief system (even one with good core teachings) gets taken to extremist lengths, when it stops seeing other humans as humans, it becomes a tool for evil. The capacity for fanaticism doesn't live in religion. It lives in the human heart. We can turn anything: political freedom, racial purity, or economic equality into an excuse for violence if we pursue it with ruthless zeal and without moral restraints.
Humans don't need religion to become fanatics. We just need an idea we love more than people.
Root #4: False Religion
Here's where we need to make a critical distinction, because not everything labeled "religion" is actually good or true.
Jesus warned about this explicitly. In Matthew 7, He said: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the Kingdom... Many will say, 'Did we not do many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"
Think about what that means. Jesus is saying there will be people who use His name, who perform religious acts, who look spiritual on the outside, but who actually have nothing to do with Him.
There's true religion: genuine devotion to God that results in love and holiness. And there's false religion: outward piety that masks evil intentions. The Bible hammers this theme over and over. Through Isaiah, God rebuked people bringing Him offerings and prayers while their hands were "full of blood" and they neglected justice. Jesus constantly confronted the Pharisees for being whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside, dead on the inside.
When faith becomes mere ritual divorced from genuine love for God and neighbor, it's no longer the faith Christ taught. And yes, false religion can become a vehicle for evil.
The medieval Inquisitors who tortured and killed people to enforce "orthodoxy"? They weren't living out the way of Jesus. They were propping up an institution's power. The terrorists today who murder innocents while shouting "God is great"? Most of their own faith's adherents would call that a perverted distortion.
When religion puts dogma above love, authority above conscience, and conformity above transformation, it becomes something dangerous. But that's not religion, that's religion's counterfeit.
Now here's what's crucial about these four root causes - human nature, corrupt power, extremist ideology, and false religion:
Notice something? None of them requires belief in God. In fact, each one demonstrates that the problem runs deeper than whether someone is religious or not.
The common denominator is human sin.
As Solzhenitsyn famously wrote after surviving Stalin's camps: "The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being."
That line doesn't run between the religious and the non-religious. It runs through each of us. Every single one.
So is religion the root of evil? No. Religion is often the excuse for evil, but it's not the cause.
As Christian apologist Frank Turek puts it: "Religion doesn't poison everything. Everything poisons religion. I poison religion because I don't live up to its ideals."
That's honest. That's humble. And that's true.
Historical Perspective: What Do the Numbers Actually Say?
Alright, let's deal with the elephant in the room. You've heard it a million times:
"More people have been killed in the name of God than for any other reason."
"Religion has caused most of the wars in history."
"Faith is the most prolific source of violence."
These aren't just random accusations. Christopher Hitchens wrote a whole book titled God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Sam Harris claims religious faith is "the most prolific source of violence in our history." Richard Dawkins even called religion "the root of all evil," and made a TV documentary with that title.
This narrative has become cultural gospel. It's repeated in classrooms, in debates, on social media. It's just... accepted as fact.
But is it true?
Let me show you what happens when we actually look at the data.
The Encyclopedia of Wars
Historians Phillips and Axelrod compiled the Encyclopedia of Wars, documenting 1,763 wars throughout recorded human history.
Want to guess how many were classified as having religion as the primary cause?
121.
That's 6.8%. Less than 7% of all wars in human history were primarily religious.
Over 90% were fought for non-religious reasons—territory, power, resources, national ambition, ethnic hatred.
And here's another layer: Of those 121 "religious" wars, over half involved Islamic expansion and jihads. If you set those aside, wars tied to all other religions combined account for around 3% of total conflicts throughout history.
If religion causes all the wars, someone forgot to tell the other 93% of wars.
The 20th Century: The Bloodiest Experiment
But maybe things changed in modern times, right? Let's look at the 20th century, the most violent century in human history.
World War I? Not religious. Nationalism, imperialism, tangled alliances. World War II? Not religious. Hitler's Nazi ideology was based on racial pseudo-science and occultism, not Christianity. The Holocaust? The systematic murder of 6 million Jews was driven by anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and eugenics—not Christian theology.
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Not religious. The Korean War? Not religious. Vietnam? Not religious. The conquests of Genghis Khan? Not religious. The Rwandan genocide? Ethnic tribal warfare—not religious.
Are you seeing the pattern?
And then there are the explicitly atheistic regimes:
Soviet Union (Lenin and Stalin): Officially atheistic. Sought to eradicate organized religion. Result? An estimated 20 million people killed through purges, forced starvation like the Holodomor in Ukraine, gulags, and executions.
Communist China (Mao Zedong): Militantly atheist. Death toll? At least 65 million through the Great Leap Forward famine and the Cultural Revolution.
Cambodia (Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge): Atheistic and communist. Exterminated about 2 million people—a quarter of Cambodia's population—in just four years.
North Korea: A totalitarian regime that allows no religious freedom and deifies its leaders. Millions killed.
Historian R.J. Rummel, who studied "democide" (mass murder by governments), estimates that secular authoritarian regimes accounted for well over 100 million deaths in the 20th century alone, far exceeding the casualties of all "religious wars" in that same period. Which begs the question: If religion is the problem, why did the century that tried hardest to remove religion become the bloodiest in human history?
As Jim Denison asks: "Each was a victim of a government that was officially atheistic. Are we to blame all atheists for such atrocities?"
Of course not. That would be absurd. We intuitively understand that Marxist ideology and tyrannical power (not mere absence of religion) caused those mass killings. So maybe we should be equally careful about blaming "religion" for all atrocities when so many other factors are at play.
The 20th century tried to remove God from society. Turns out, when you deify the State instead, it demands even more blood.
But What About the Crusades?
I know what you're thinking. "Okay, but what about the actual religious violence? What about the Crusades and the Inquisition? Those happened. You can't deny them."
You're absolutely right. I'm not going to deny them. But we should talk about them honestly.
The Crusades (starting in 1095) were a series of military campaigns by medieval European Christians who believed they were fighting for God's will. When Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, they committed horrible atrocities: massacring Muslims and Jews alike. That carnage cannot be whitewashed. It was barbaric and utterly contrary to Jesus' teachings. But here's what often gets left out: The Crusades were also a response to centuries of Islamic military expansion that had conquered formerly Christian lands and threatened Europe. They were as much a geopolitical war as a religious one. Many historians view them as defensive wars that went horrifically off the rails.
Does that excuse the violence? Absolutely not. But it adds necessary context.
The Inquisitions (Spanish, Roman, and others) killed thousands over several centuries using torture and execution to enforce orthodoxy and root out heresy. These are rightly condemned as some of the darkest chapters in church history.
Islamic terrorism has tragically claimed lives around the world: from the 9/11 attacks (nearly 3,000 dead) to suicide bombings to extremist insurgencies. Here, religion is obviously part of the motive.
Sectarian violence in places like Northern Ireland (Catholic vs. Protestant) or the Middle East (Sunni vs. Shia) shows that religious identity can fuel cycles of retaliation.
So yes, "religious evil" is real. History provides ample examples.
But here's what's crucial to understand: For every "religious war" you can name, I can name many wars with no religious driver at all. And often, even in "religious wars," religion gets intermingled with other causes. The Troubles in Northern Ireland were Catholic vs. Protestant, sure—but also Irish nationalism vs. British unionism. It was about national identity and civil rights as much as theology. The Thirty Years' War started as Catholic vs. Protestant, but it became a geopolitical struggle where Catholic France sided with Protestants when it suited their national interest.
Humans don't need religion to butcher each other. We'll use whatever excuse is handy—political power, ethnic hatred, economic gain, or yes, sometimes the banner of faith.
The Rest of the Story
But here's what never gets mentioned in the "religion causes violence" narrative:
What about all the tremendous good that faith has inspired?
Was William Wilberforce's decades-long fight to abolish the slave trade in Britain an example of religious "poison," or was it motivated by his devout Christian conviction that all humans are made in God's image?
Florence Nightingale pioneering modern nursing? Dietrich Bonhoeffer giving his life opposing Hitler? The thousands of hospitals, universities, and charities founded by people of faith?
If religion "poisons everything," as Hitchens claimed, then we need to explain why so much of what we consider noble, compassionate, and civilization-building has been done by deeply religious people. In fact, the very moral standards by which we judge "religious atrocities" often have roots in religion itself.
Why do we say the Crusades were wrong? Because by Christian ethics (the teachings of Jesus) such slaughter was wrong. The abolition of slavery, the idea of human equality, the concept of mercy in justice; these all have deep Judeo-Christian underpinnings. John Adams once wrote that "the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation" by providing the world with the idea of one sovereign God and a moral law.
We use the moral framework that Christianity gave the world to condemn the times Christians failed to live up to it. That's not hypocrisy, that's proof the framework works.
True Religion vs. False Religion: The Crucial Distinction
Alright, we've established that religion isn't the primary cause of violence historically. But we still need to answer a critical question:
Why have some horrible things been done by believers? Doesn't that show there's something inherently dangerous about faith?
This is where we need to distinguish between following the teachings of your faith and twisting or betraying those teachings.
I’ll show you what I mean.
Jesus Never Called for Holy War
Here's what makes Christianity unique: The founder of our faith explicitly rejected violence as a means of advancing His kingdom.
When Pilate questioned Jesus, He said: "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight...but my kingdom is from another place" (John 18:36).
When Peter tried to defend Jesus with a sword at His arrest, Jesus rebuked him: "Put your sword back in its place...for all who draw the sword will die by the sword" (Matthew 26:52).
Jesus taught, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44).
These aren't the words of a warlord or a terrorist instigator. These are the words of someone who renounced violence even at the cost of His own life. So when we look at events like the Crusades or religious wars, we have to say: Those were carried out by people who claimed the name of Christ but ignored His commands. Could anyone honestly blame God for the bloodshed of the Crusades? Did Jesus order it? No. It was done by men acting on their own sinful agendas, using religious justification as cover.
The "In the Name Of" Fallacy
Here's an important principle: People can do evil "in the name of" a respected person or ideal while utterly betraying that person or ideal.
Let me give you an analogy. If I started burning down churches and claimed, "I do this because Richard Dawkins would prefer a world without religion," would that accurately represent his wishes? Of course not. Should all atheists be blamed for my violent actions simply because I invoked an atheist's name? Absolutely not. Likewise, just because someone cries "God wills it!" while committing evil doesn't mean God actually willed it, or that we should judge God or all believers by that person's deeds.
Anything can be done in the name of a respected person, but the thing done might be utterly abhorred by the person it's supposed to honor.
Jesus even predicted this would happen. He warned that "many will come in My name," deceiving people (Matthew 24:5), and that because of hypocrites, "the name of God is blasphemed among the nations" (Romans 2:24). It's tragically ironic: The evil actions of false Christians can make Christianity look bad, fulfilling Jesus' own prophecy that His name would be slandered.
The Fruit Test
So how do we discern true vs. false religion? How do we tell authentic Christianity from its corrupt counterfeit? Jesus gave us a simple test: "By their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 7:16).
Look at the results. Does a belief or movement produce the kind of fruit Jesus produced? The fruit of the Spirit, according to Galatians 5:22-23, is "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
When you see acts motivated by those qualities, you're seeing the touch of true faith.
When you see the opposite (hatred, cruelty, pride, deceit, uncontrolled aggression) you're seeing the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21), which operate in opposition to God's Spirit, even if someone has a cross on their flag.
Some examples:
William Wilberforce in the 1800s: His evangelical Christian faith compelled him to fight the slave trade for decades, motivated by the conviction that slavery was an affront to the God-given dignity of people. Good fruit.
Mother Teresa: Her whole life of care for the dying in India was the fruit of her devotion to Jesus. Good fruit.
Martin Luther King Jr.: His nonviolent resistance to racial injustice was explicitly fueled by Jesus' teachings. Good fruit.
Now contrast that:
A KKK member burning crosses and terrorizing Black communities while claiming to be Christian? Rotten fruit. That's anti-Christian fruit (hatred, violence, lies) that Jesus condemns.
A televangelist scammer exploiting people's faith to line his pockets? Rotten fruit. Greed and deceit.
We must be brave enough to say: These people may call Jesus "Lord, Lord," but unless they repent, Jesus will say to them, "I never knew you."
The validity of Christianity doesn't rest on Christians being sinless. It rests on Christ, who was sinless. We point to Him, not us.
Christianity's Answer to Evil
We've spent a lot of time on what Christianity isn't responsible for. Now let's talk about what Christianity offers as a solution to evil.
Because here's the thing: Christian faith doesn't just tell us "there's evil in the world." Anyone can see that. Christianity offers a coherent explanation for why evil exists, and more importantly, how to defeat it.
Let me show you four ways Christianity confronts evil uniquely.
1. Human Dignity as a Divine Gift
Unlike philosophies that view humans as mere atoms or evolved animals with no inherent worth, Christianity asserts that every person has profound, inherent value.
Genesis 1:27 tells us that humans—male and female—are made in the image of God.
This doctrine of the Imago Dei is revolutionary. It means every life is sacred—a reflection, however marred, of God's own nature.
Why is this an answer to evil? Because recognizing human dignity is the first step to restraining it.
If I truly believe my neighbor bears God's image, I cannot murder him. To harm him is to offend the Creator.
This belief inspired early Christians to oppose practices like infant exposure (the abandonment of unwanted babies in ancient Rome)—they rescued and raised those children because they saw even the weakest humans as precious.
It's what drove Wilberforce and others to fight against slavery. They knew that no person, regardless of race or status, was lesser in God's eyes.
The Declaration of Independence draws from this: "All men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights."
If we remove the Creator, on what basis do we say humans are equal or have rights? It becomes a mere sentiment.
History shows that when regimes deny this God-given dignity—Nazis calling Jews "subhuman," communists labeling certain classes "enemies of the people"—atrocities follow.
Christianity's insistence that every person matters because every person bears God's image is a bulwark against evil.
2. A Clear Moral Law and Foundation for Good
Christianity doesn't just affirm human value. It also lays out a clear moral framework.
The Ten Commandments and Jesus' teachings give us a universal ethic: Don't murder, steal, lie, or commit sexual immorality. Honor God, speak truth, be faithful, love your neighbor—even your enemy.
These aren't arbitrary rules. They reflect God's own character.
Here's why this matters: Because God is goodness Himself, morality has an objective, unchanging reference point.
This is a profound strength of the Christian worldview: We can call something evil with authority.
We can say "murder is wrong" and mean it as an absolute, because it violates the command of a holy God and the value of His image-bearers.
Frank Turek puts it this way: "If there is no God, why is murder wrong? If there is no God, it's just your opinion against the murderer's."
One person might say violence is wrong, another might say it's useful. Without a higher moral law, who's to judge?
Thankfully, God has written moral law into our conscience and in revelation.
We know it's wrong to "charge across a border and murder and rape women and children" not by majority vote, but because there's a Standard beyond us—God—who says it's wrong.
Christianity names evil for what it is (a violation of God's good design) and thereby motivates believers to strive for righteousness.
3. Transformation of the Heart
Here's where Christianity offers something truly unique: the promise of a new heart.
Recognizing evil and having rules against it is one thing. Overcoming evil tendencies? That's another. The Gospel says that through Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection, sinful humans can be forgiven and spiritually transformed from the inside out. Jesus spoke of this as being "born again" (John 3:3). Paul described it as becoming "a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
In practical terms, this means someone who was once full of hatred can, by God's grace, become loving. Someone violent can become peaceful.
Think about John Newton: a rough slave ship captain in the 1700s who profited from the cruel slave trade. After his radical conversion to Christ, his heart changed so dramatically that he left the slave trade, became a humble pastor, and later joined Wilberforce in campaigning to end slavery. He's best known for writing the hymn "Amazing Grace": "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see." Newton's life (from slave trader to abolitionist) is a powerful illustration of Christianity's ability to turn evil into good by changing a person from within.
And he's not an isolated case. There are former gang members who now preach peace. Former drug addicts who now rescue others. Even former terrorists who, after converting, renounce violence and seek reconciliation.
You can punish evil externally. You can try to rehabilitate behavior. But only a change of heart truly reforms a person from the inside out.
4. Hope, Justice, and Ultimate Restoration
Finally, Christianity provides hope that evil will not have the last word. One of the most profound human needs in the face of evil is the assurance that justice will ultimately be done and that suffering is not meaningless. The Bible reveals a God who is both loving and just—mercifully patient now, but who will one day judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31).
This doctrine of final judgment means every wrong will be accounted for, even if it escaped justice in this life.
Knowing this helps believers resist the temptation to take vengeance. We can "overcome evil with good" now (Romans 12:21), because we trust God will overcome evil with justice in the end.
And beyond this life? The Christian hope is breathtaking: a new heaven and new earth where evil is eradicated entirely. Revelation 21:4 describes a future where God "will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away."
Why does this matter now? Because hope for the future gives strength in the present.
Christian martyrs across history endured evil inflicted on them because they clung to the hope of resurrection and a better world to come. This hope fueled Martin Luther King Jr., who in his last speech spoke of having "been to the mountaintop" and seen the Promised Land—giving him peace even facing death.
In a world drowning in evil, the ability to genuinely change and the promise that evil will ultimately be judged and removed is a beacon of hope.
Living Out Authentic Faith
Alright, we've covered a lot of ground. We've looked at history, examined the data, explored Scripture. But none of this matters if we don't apply it to our lives. It's one thing to intellectually rebut the claim "religion is the root of evil." It's another to embody a faith that clearly produces good and not evil.
Our goal isn't to "own" critics with data. It's to witness to the truth with both words and actions.
Let me give you five practical applications.
1. Practice Historical Honesty
When confronted with the Crusades or any ugly chapter in church history, resist the urge to get defensive or deny the facts. Instead, agree that those actions were evil and inconsistent with Jesus' teachings. Apologize where appropriate, not that you personally did it, but expressing sorrow that anyone did such things under the banner of your faith.
This honesty builds credibility. It shows we aren't whitewashing history.
Proverbs 28:13 says, "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy."
Much of the anger against religion comes from the perception that religious people never admit their mistakes. Let's prove that wrong.
We follow a God of truth. We should not fear the truth about our past.
2. Examine Your Own Heart
It's easy to talk about the sins of others in the past. But we must also examine our own lives.
Psalm 139:23-24: "Search me, O God, and know my heart... see if there is any offensive way in me."
Are there ways you're practicing a form of false religion or hypocrisy? Not dramatic like violence, but what about prejudice, pride, lack of love? If I harbor hatred while professing Christ, I'm contributing to the very stereotype that "religion is evil."
The best rebuttal to the charge of hypocrisy is to not live as a hypocrite.
1 Peter 2:12: "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God."
Our personal holiness and love are our most powerful apologetic.
3. Demonstrate Christ's Love Practically
Nothing counteracts the claim "religion is evil" better than a Christian who genuinely loves others.
Be known not just for what you stand against but what you stand for: feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, befriending the lonely, defending the oppressed.
Matthew 5:16: "Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
In everyday terms: Volunteer. Extend forgiveness. Show kindness. Remember birthdays. Offer to pray for coworkers who are struggling. Over time, even hostile critics can have a change of heart. Consider how many pagan Romans in the early centuries were won over because Christians stayed to nurse plague victims when everyone else fled.
We should overwhelm the world with love until even skeptics have to admit: if more religious people were like that, the world would be better.
4. Engage in Respectful Dialogue
In public conversations (online, in the classroom, at the dinner table) engage critics with respect and patience.
No one has ever been argued into the Kingdom by angry shouting. If someone says "religion is evil," respond as you would want someone to respond if you were mistaken—with gentleness and willingness to listen. Ask questions: "What specific examples do you have in mind?" or "How do you define evil?"
2 Timothy 2:24-25: "The Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone... Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance."
Behind many harsh critics is often some hurt or fear. Maybe they were wounded by a religious person. By keeping your tone calm and compassionate, you model Christ and differentiate yourself from the caricature of the "defensive, intolerant believer."
Truth delivered without love is just noise. Love demonstrated without truth is just sentiment. We need both.
5. Be Prepared to Give Answers
Finally, equip yourself to answer tough questions clearly.
In a soundbite era, sometimes you only have a minute to make your case. Practice articulating truth succinctly:
"Actually, only about 7% of wars in history were primarily about religion—the vast majority had other causes. And in the last century, explicitly anti-religious regimes killed far more people than religious wars. So the idea that religion is the biggest source of evil doesn't hold up historically. What really causes evil is human greed, hatred, and the will to power—which infect religious and non-religious people alike. The real question is: how do we solve the human problem of evil? As a Christian, I believe we need a change of heart that comes from God, which is what Jesus offers."
That's concise, evidence-based, and gospel-centered.
One-liner from Proverbs 15:28: "The heart of the righteous weighs its answers."
The Real Roots and the Way Forward
So let me bring this all together. Evil is real. It's ugly. We all agree on that. But blaming "religion" as the root of evil? That misses the mark. The real root of evil is the fallen human heart: prone to pride, hate, and selfishness.
Religion has often been a mirror reflecting that heart, for better or worse, depending on how it's used. Corrupt religion, hijacked by human vices, has caused pain. We don't deny it. But true religion, anchored in God's character and word, has been a tremendous force for good—and is in fact the antidote to evil's poison.
Christianity in particular gives us:
The diagnosis (all have sinned)
The prognosis (evil will not win)
The cure (Jesus Christ)
It provides the straight line by which we know what is crooked. It provides the Savior who can straighten our crooked hearts. And it provides the hope that one day, all crookedness will be finally straightened by God's hand.
Is religion the root of evil? No.
The root of evil runs through each human heart. But Christianity points us to the root of redemption: the Old Rugged Cross that took the worst of human evil and turned it into the best news ever. At the cross, we see God's answer to evil: not wiping out evildoers (which would be all of us), but sacrificing Himself to save evildoers. That is the heart of true Christianity. God would rather die for His enemies than kill them.
Let me leave you with this: For those of you who are skeptical or on the fence, I invite you to consider Jesus Christ Himself. Don't judge Him by those who have failed to follow Him. Judge Him by His life, His words, His impact. You will find no evil there: only holiness and love. For my fellow Christians, our call is to embrace pure and undefiled religion (James 1:27), to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a broken world.
Let's commit to understanding history and human nature so we can answer critics thoughtfully. But even more, let's commit to demonstrating the beauty of Christ through our lives.
Romans 12:21: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
The Christian answer to evil isn't to hide from it or return it in kind, but to actively overcome it by the power of good—God's good working through us. So the next time someone asks you, "Is religion the root of evil?" you can say:
"No, the root of evil is the evil in human hearts—including mine and yours. Religion can sometimes be a mask over it, but it's not the root. In fact, my religion—following Jesus—is what gives me the resources to recognize evil for what it is and to fight it. It gives me a Savior who took my evil upon Himself and a Spirit who enables me to do good instead of evil. The real question is: what's the remedy for the evil in all of us? And I've found that remedy in Christ."
Let's pray.
Father, we confess that evil is real—and it starts in our own hearts. We acknowledge the failures of Your people throughout history, the times we've used Your name to justify what You never commanded. Forgive us. Transform us. Help us to live in such a way that when people look at us, they see You—not our failures, but Your grace. Give us courage to speak truth, humility to admit wrongs, and love that overcomes all evil. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Next week on Word for Word, we're diving into one of the most challenging questions in all of Scripture: "If Christianity is true, why are so many atrocities committed in the name of Christ?" We'll get even more specific about church history, the Inquisition, and how to respond when critics bring up Christianity's darkest moments.
Until then, go be the light. Show the world what true religion really looks like.
