A primary cause of the Crusades was too many restless, impoverished knights and noblemen in Europe, who jumped at the chance for loot and lands in the East. That they could tell themselves they were doing it for God was an added bonus, but I doubt many would have gone just for that reason.
History is economics, and all our beliefs and ideals are only along for the ride. Individual motives align themselves, one way or another, with the actual underlying causes.
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