[Sorloc]

I love religion for setting purposes...
Nothing is better at needlessly creating conflict than religion. As stated in the rules for Illuminati, 'all fanatic organizations are opposed to each other'.

I mentioned it elsewhere in this forum, but I have a continent with several dwarven nations that constantly try to annihilate each other due to different interpretations of the same religion's dogma - much like the protestant reformation. From outside the religion, they all seem the same, but they're fanatically opposed to each other over trivial details.

See, if Country A is going to attack Country B, we want to know why. If it's about land, OK. If it's about gaining access to a seaport, OK. If it's ancient enmities, OK. If it's about one country is richer, OK. All of these can be resolved through either bloodshed or diplomacy.

If it's a religious issue, however, there is only one solution - destroy ALL the heretics, hunt down the infidels and burn them all. There can be no diplomacy, no peace, no compromise, no understanding.

Obvious examples include Jerusalem, but also the pervading self-inflicted ignorance in the USA regarding all non-christian religions, especially Muslim. Most people know next to nothing about the religion, and desire to know even less. And this in a supposedly highly educated world leading country.

PLEASE NOTE: I am not taking a position either for or against ANY religion, and absolutely will not get involved in any such discussion. I realize the danger in even skirting this issue, and only do so to illustrate that with this subject, fanaticism is rampant and cannot be suppressed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._denominations