How many people did the Catholic church torture/sponsor killings, since its inception?

Question

Its a question about the institution and not about the faith.

Answer 1

Between the crusades, inquisition, religious wars, etc...  MANY MANY people were tortured and killed.

Answer 2

A lot of people are giving answers about the Spanish Inquisition.  It's interesting to note that there is a 'myth' of the ferocity of the Spanish Inquisition, begun since the start of Protestantism, which is being overturned by modern-day histortians.  In fact, the Inquisition helped to PREVENT abuse of citizens that was attempted by civil authorities. (Such as the one you note was done by Charlemagne.)

My source is a from a resolved question about the Inquisition:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Answer 3

It is not possible to determine and exact number for a couple of reasons. When answering this question, people usually only think about the inquisition.  One must also consider the Crusades which were precipitated by Pope Urban II in 1096 as well as the numerous wars of religion that took place from the 13th century through the the 17th century. And, as a side note, you cannot forgot that Protestants must share some guilt for  deaths during the wars of religion.  Additionally, it must be keep in mind that church and state were indelibly intertwined during this period. Therefore, the secular wing of the various Catholic and/or Protestant supported governments must also take significant blame for those who were killed in the name of God.

So, how many died at the hands of the Catholic Church? If you include the Crusades, the Inquisition and the wars of religion, then a guesstimate of 100,000 plus is probably a pretty good guess. If you are talking about the Inquisition only, then somewhere between 2500-5000 is more likely.

The individual who suggested "millions" is way off. The individual who said not as many as the Taliban is absolutely correct.  

Answer 4

Are you prejudiced against Catholics?  The Klan's anti-Catholic, too.

And 'Intense' below: Don't want to get into an argument over numbers here, but the population of all of Christendom (Europe) by the time of the Inquisition was hardly 20 million; Spain about 4 million - I think 'hundreds

of thousands' is pretty far-fetched.

'Dark project' below, you stated 125,000 deaths,  but I checked your links, and NONE of them show this.   (The closest to that is a single harsh estimate of 150,000 who were actually tried - Did you actually read it? - but less than 2% executed.) Be more honest, next time.

And 'staisil' below, re Spanish Iniquisition:  According to wiki site, which lists several estimates of death in Spanish Inquisition, highest estimate is between 3 and 5 thousand

victims; most far lower.  The harshest descriptions of the Inquisition come from Protestant attacks in prior centuries; if you skim down to 'modern scholarship', you'll find most professional

Historians have a far different view of it today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inq...

Answer 5

Countless, truly, and there was no official count so we'll never know accurately but it runs into hundreds of thousands

Answer 6

Very few, if any.

Do not confuse the actions of civil governments with the actions of the Catholic Church.

+ Charlemagne +

Charlemagne was the king of a country and not a representative of the Catholic Church.

+ Conquistadors +

Conquistadors were Spanish military and not representatives of the Catholic Church. By the way, they did stop the practice of human sacrifice in the Americas.

With love in Christ.

Answer 7

The Spanish Inquisition killed about 2000 people over somewhat less than 200 years.

For any single institution, the government of Communist China holds the record, although clear records are scarce. Estimates range between 35 million and 50 million Chinese murdered in the so-called "Cultural Revolution", which lasted less than ten years.

A close runner up is Joseph Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union. He was responsible for the death by starvation of 20 million Ukrainians, and the direct murder of 2 or 3 million Russians.

Between Communism and the Catholic Church, I'll take my chances with the Spanish Inquisition.

/Oh, I wasn't expecting the Spanish Inquisition....

PS: Al-queda murdered more people on one day than the entire reign of the Spanish Inquisition.  "The Terror" after the French Revolution, which was the rational, enlightened overthrow of Medieval superstition and religious tyranny, murdered between 20 and 40 thousand people in slightly less than one year.  I'l still take my chances with the Inquisition.

/Even if they do have three weapons: fear, surprise, and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope.

Answer 8

You may want to read about the Spanish Inquisition.

Answer 9

No one knows how many people were killed with the approval and sanctioning of the church.

The exact number of killed is unknown the inquisition years results could be in hundreds of thousands of deaths with most of the victims being tortured for days prior to their execution.  Wikipedia lists several numbers of the results (number executed) in different countries and who the "top" inquisitors were. The Spanish Inquisition alone is credited with 125,000 deaths. Many were condemned to death by non-church tribunals. However, it is impossible to determine the precision of this total, and owing to the gaps in documentation, it is unlikely that the exact number will ever be known.

Answer 10

If you would like more answers, consider asking around this site as well...

http://christianforums.com/forumdisplay....

Answer 11

Not nearly as many as the Taliban