Has anyone ever calculated the lives suddenly cut short due to religious fervor?

Going back through the annals of history, all the way back to the pre-Christian times (e.g. Assyrians versus Judaism, Egyptians versus Judaism, etc.), what would be the body count for those who have died in "(un)Holy Wars?"

[Nota Bene: Is "Holy War" an oxymoron?]

We could make it even more simple - possibly yielding a more manageable number of casualties - by taking casualties generated by conflicts between the "Big Five" religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. How many have been killed in the name of God through conflicts featuring just these 5 beliefs? Millions? Certainly. Tens of millions? Quite probably. Hundreds of millions? I would take the bet.

And the numbers continue to mount. In the Sudan, the ruling Islamic fundamentalists in Khartoum have almost completely wiped out the native Africans (non-Muslims) living in the Darfur region of their country. A half-million dead and 1-2 million displaced (and dying) in squalid refugee camps outside the Sudan. Their 22+ year-old civil war with the primarily-Christian people of south Sudan continues. How soon will we start seeing the Hollywood films decrying inactivity of the United States (clearly, the only country - at least in the world's opinion - that actually has a moral oblication to take action) in the face of such horrors? Of course, we are just now getting the west coast versions of African's massacres from Rwanda of the last decade; of course, these were merely tribal conflicts and, to my knowledge, not "holy war." So, it may be a while before America gets raked over the coals of world opinion for their inaction during these atrocities. [One might ask where the U.N., in general, and Kofi Annan, himself from Africa, specifically has been for the past 2 years but that would be politically incorrect.]

But, getting back "on point," if I were thinking of a doctorial thesis for a Ph.D. in history, I would propose to calculate the number of dead caused directly "in the name of" spritual belief. How is it that a divine power - be it God, Allah, Buddha or Whomever - dictates death of other human beings? how could someone divine condone murder for whatever cause? Could it possibly be that mankind is not following the correct doctrine? Is it plausible that we - meaning "mankind" -  have things all wrong? There is something "satanic" and man-made about "Holy War" or jihad, not to mention genocide and persecution.

I have never read the Quran or the Torah. Nor have I read the Hindu Vedas (nor Agamas, Gita, or Ramayana). Likewide, I am not a biblical scholar. I am just a very ordinary member of the human race. I do have an idea, nevertheless, that there are no divine beings in any religion that condone murder of other human beings - ever. I am almost sure that none of the major religion's earthly leaders - be they Mohammed, Moses, Jesus, or Buddha - ever killed another human in the course of their earthly existence. I do not understand how we, as mere mortal man, can say we are doing this "in the name of:" anyone.

But, then, maybe I am missing something. If so, I do wish I could be enlightened.