User blog comment:Jeremiah Garland/The Inapposite and Superfluous Philosophical Enigmas of Jeremiah Garland/@comment-5593623-20130606113224/@comment-7097825-20130606164131

@8 Religion did not cause the crusades. The rise of the Seljuk Turks who were threatening the Byzantine Empire was the cause, along with the desire for material wealth. Religion was used an excuse and a recruitment tool, but was not the cause of the Crusades.