They are fighting to decide whose sky daddy is the true one and the most peaceful one.

I don’t participate in those things. They’re stupid. It’s pointless.

Without religion people would probably be less inclined to fight. Without the promise of an afterlife, I suspect people would be less likely to send their families into battle... or go themselves. They'd start demanding that all political options had been exhausted first. And then we might not have a military complex that uses war to make itself insanely wealthy.

I love the idea of the end of religious wars, oh! what a wonderful world this would be.

Now for some reality, (OUCH!).

Human beings are emotional, competitive, and driven. There will always be a percentage of the population that craves control and power. To have the control you must first have power and we all know that wealth, charisma, and a good spin on a speech can win a lot of support. There will always be desperate people for one reason or another and the ones in power know just how to make them feel better about it. A community based on faith that can help each other.

VOILA! You have the makings of another religion.

You could start this planet over again with just the Athiest to populate it and within a few hundred years religion would rear its ugly head. The reason being is not about faith but about controlling the masses for the benefit of those in power.

So even though we may like the idea of a peaceful society, it's not likely to happen. It is the human condition.

"I'm tired of religious wars". Is there any other type?

We don't need a reason for war. It's a method of population control. It's not efficient but it gets the job done.

If I were a general I'd make war much more efficient but I'd never be a general at the moment because I detest the unnecessary killing of human beings.

I'm tired of reading about them, never been in one, thank God. How many have you been in?

Aren't they frequently wars over for other reasons and religion is brought into it to make the populace more committed to the war? Effectively a manipulation of religion and the common man?

Me too.. but it seems to be the human nature. We humans are basically a giant herd of blind and dumb animals, following very few members of the specie, who are actually the ones that makes the species go forward.
So basically, im not ver optimistic about it.

Aren't we all? Honestly, once the various holy books are discarded in favour of a more general spirituality, the world will actually become a better place. I still won't share the beliefs of the majority of the population, but I'll find them significantly less ridiculous.