ABSTRACT
Religion is a “fundamental marker of individual and group identity” and the linkage between religious identity and worldview is strong. The measurements are of the empirical relationship of religion—and religions—on states' propensities to initiate armed conflicts with other states, from 1946 through 2010. Although religion is quantifiable in various ways, an essential variable is religious identity, i.e. alignment of individuals, groups, and entire nations with specific religions. The subfield of religion and international relations/comparative politics has witnessed a wave of data construction. The positive relationship of Muslim Preference is similarly limited to the lower threshold of interstate armed conflict. Muslim Preference is not significantly correlated to states' first use of deadly force. The relationship to Muslim Government Religious Preference is positive in all models, but significant only at the lower threshold of triggering the dependent variable.
