The aptly named Pig War nearly saw an argument over a slaughtered swine lead to a full-scale conflict between the United States and Great Britain. The controversy began in 1859 on San Juan Island, a chunk of land located between the mainland United States and Vancouver Island.
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/6-wars-fought-for-ridiculous-reasons
In what became known as the Toledo War, both sides wrestled for political control of the territory, and both raised militias to defend against a possible invasion by the other. Desperate for Ohio’s valuable electoral votes, President Andrew Jackson finally intervened in 1835, and by 1836 a compromise was sealed.
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/6-wars-fought-for-ridiculous-reasons
He wrote in his 2013 autobiography that “religion is the principal label, and the most dangerous one, by which a ‘they’, as opposed to a 'we' can be identified.. Dawkins has said that if religion were somehow abolished, there would be a much better chance of no more war. There would also be less hatred, because a lot of the hatred in the world is sectarian hatred, according to Dawkins. For example, in Northern Ireland, India and Pakistan,” he told the website belief.net.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/11/14/religions-war-cause-responsible-evidence_n_6156878.html
Indeed, it would not be wrong, in both these cases, to see religious war as a type (in Islam, even the archetype) of just war. One fought for religious or religiously legitimate purposes; and in Islam, in particular, one also fought according to religiously legitimated rules.
http://www.rinr.fsu.edu/fallwinter99/features/religiouswar.html
Most wars are fought over serious issues like territory, resources or political freedom, but others arise from bizarre and even comical circumstances.
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/6-wars-fought-for-ridiculous-reasons
The Huffington Post UK's Beyond Belief series chronicled the remarkable lives of Britons who've taken on their faith to create a force for change. It is the most common comeback from atheists to people of faith: religion is the main cause of wars. Without faith, many say, there would have been no 9/11 attacks, no Israeli-Palestinian conflict, no Troubles in Northern Ireland, no violent disputes over words in holy texts - even no Islamic State.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/11/14/religions-war-cause-responsible-evidence_n_6156878.html
In one of the most bizarre conflicts of the 20th century, a dog inadvertently triggered an international crisis. The incident was the culmination of a long period of hostility between Greece and Bulgaria, which had been at odds since the Second Balkan War in the 1910s.
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/6-wars-fought-for-ridiculous-reasons
All of the wars had multiple causes, and the much more common motivation was opposition to a government, or to the economic, ideological, political or social systems of a state, which was named as a main factor in nearly two thirds of the cases studied.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/11/14/religions-war-cause-responsible-evidence_n_6156878.html
The world's worst wars were fought over ideology. But killing each other in the name of religion has never been out of fashion. by John Kelsay. Perhaps as none before it, the 20th century began on a theme of hope for increased cooperation and peaceful initiatives between adherents of the world's religions.
http://www.rinr.fsu.edu/fallwinter99/features/religiouswar.html
Over the years, armies have mobilized and blood has been shed over everything from tragic misunderstandings and perceived slights to petty border disputes and even sporting events. Get the facts on six of history’s most preposterous conflicts.
http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/6-wars-fought-for-ridiculous-reasons
what are wars most commonly fought over
Wars are most commonly fought over religion.